Driver fleeing police backs into officers and pins them against patrol car, CA cops say

Two Palm Springs police officers were hurt when a driver backed into them, pinning them against their patrol car during a chase, California officials reported.

The officers were treated at a hospital following the incident at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, Palm Springs police said in a news release.

Police patrolling a neighborhood where recent burglaries had taken place tried to pull over a vehicle, which sped away, the release said.

The driver pulled into a cul-de-sac and stopped, but when two officers approached, one person inside dashed away and the driver reversed into the officers, pinning them, the release said.

The driver then sped off again and later crashed into a wall, police said.

Two more people jumped out of the vehicle and ran away, the release said. After a search with a helicopter, officers arrested two people. Their names were not released.

Officers found several catalytic converters inside the vehicle, police said.

One of the injured officers is in stable condition and the other was expected to be released shortly, police said.

Palm Springs is a city of 45,000 people near Joshua Tree National Park about 100 miles east of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Driver fleeing police backs into officers and pins them against patrol car, CA cops say."