WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. — A West Melbourne police officer is in the hospital and a man is in custody after a pursuit came to a crashing halt in Rockledge.
Investigators said it all started with a report of someone asleep behind the wheel of a car at Coastal Lane and US-192 in West Melbourne.
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Police said they attempted to remove the man from the vehicle, but he drove off, throwing the officer into a nearby boat trailer at the traffic light.
Police said the man was found later on Friday and led them on a foot chase through a neighborhood on Gardener Road.
Channel 9 was there as police cuffed the man, whom officers said evaded them for miles before crashing in a Rockledge neighborhood.
Officers said after the crash he took off running through a neighborhood and kept reaching in a bag. Police said he discarded the bag before he was tased. Inside they said they found a replica revolver.
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Police said two other people were in the Jeep when it crashed, but they were not in the jeep earlier in the day when the man initially fled from police.
The officer flung from the vehicle injured his back and neck and is in the hospital in stable condition.
Anyone with information is asked to call the West Melbourne Police Department at 321-723-9673 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477.)