Man pees on police department front door then hits officer with SUV, Missouri cops say

A man is accused of urinating on the front door of a police department before driving over an officer with an SUV, Missouri police say.

The 28-year-old suspect was caught peeing on the front entrance of the Springfield Police Department on Tuesday morning, according to a news release. When police officers asked him to leave, the man drove away in a white SUV then “circled back.”

He then drove the vehicle toward the police department and accelerated to an officer standing in front of the building, police said.

“The officer attempted to get out of the way, but it appears the driver intentionally struck the officer who became trapped under the vehicle,” police said. “The vehicle continued forward with the officer still trapped and struck a concrete bollard.”

Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams called it a “direct assault on the officer,” in news conference.

“The officer tried to get out of the way,” Williams said. “Unfortunately, he was crushed between the bollard and the front of the vehicle.”

Another officer shouted at the man to exit the SUV, but he is accused of continuing to drive forward, police said. That’s when the officer shot the suspect, police said.

The suspect and the officer — identified as Mark Priebe, a 21-year veteran of the police department — were hospitalized.

The officer was talking and breathing as he was taken to the hospital, Williams said. He was in “serious condition,” officials said.

Investigators have not yet determined a motive.

“We’re still trying to figure out who he is and what his intent was,” Williams said shortly after the incident.

The city council held a moment of silence for Priebe during a meeting on Tuesday.

“This is a sad reminder of the danger our officers face on a daily basis in an attempt to mitigate situations,” Springfield Mayor Ken McClure said in statement.

McClatchy News is not identifying the suspect because he has not been arrested or charged.

This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 1:23 PM.