A suspect in a pickup truck deliberately ran into an Orlando police detective during a credit card fraud investigation on Friday, Orange County deputies said.
Deputies said in a report that they initiated an investigation into Rodney Hurd after they were contacted by Kentucky state police, who were investigating a group suspected of committing credit card fraud in the Metro Orlando area.
Investigators in Kentucky told their Orange County counterparts that Hurd and others had bilked two tire companies out of more than $29,500 in fraudulent purchases.
With the help of an employee from one the companies, deputies teamed with Orlando police to set up a deal with Hurd and another suspect at an abandoned Albertson’s store on Clarcona Ocoee Road about 3 p.m. on Friday, according to the report.
Deputies said Hurd and the second suspect made the set-up purchase, and investigators moved in to arrest them. When Orlando detectives moved their vehicles into position to block the suspects from leaving, investigators said Hurd jumped into a pickup truck and hit the gas.
According to the report, the truck Hurd was driving struck one detective’s police vehicle with enough force to cause it to move. The detective, who had gotten out, moved away from the vehicle.
That’s when deputies said Hurd turned the truck, aiming it squarely at the detective. The report says the truck then hit the detective, who investigators said was able to “use the force [of the impact] to move upward and slightly away.”
The report did not indicate if the detective was hurt, or how severely. It said that, when it seemed Hurd was about to strike the detective again, the suspect instead came to an abrupt stop and screamed, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Another detective was then able to pull Hurd out of the truck, deputies said. He was arrested on charges of violation of probation, aggravated fleeing, attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, criminal mischief and resisting with violence.
According to the report, Hurd later told investigators that he was “sorry for almost running over the police officer,” though he said he didn’t think he had been doing anything wrong when police approached him.
The report says he also told deputies he thought police would have been justified in shooting him, and he was “grateful for not being dead.”
Jeff Weiner can be reached at 407-420-5171, jeweiner@orlandosentinel.com or @OSNightCops on Twitter.
Article source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-deputy-hit-by-truck-suspect-20110116,0,446091.story?track=rss
Category: Identity Theft Watch