ECORSE, Mich. (WXYZ) — A police officer was hit by a vehicle and the suspect was shot by another officer, according to Dearborn police. It happened in Ecorse around 5:45 a.m., on Wednesday.
Watch Darren Cunningham's report below
Tammy Steiner lives down the street from the Citgo Gas Station where the commotion occurred, at the corner on Southfield Road and Second Street.
Officers from an auto theft task force, the Southeast Michigan Auto Crimes Consortium, had approached a couple of people suspected of breaking into and stealing from several dozen vehicles across metro Detroit.
One of the suspects, who was driving a Durango, put the vehicle in reverse. It struck and injured an officer. Another officer opened fire and shot the suspect in the chin.
Steiner said her block was recently targeted by car burglars, although it’s unclear if these arrests are connected.
“I’m glad they caught whoever they caught because my car was broken into like two weeks ago," Steiner said.
“They went down the whole street as far as I know. They went down anybody’s car that they could get into. If it was open, they went into it," she recalled.
Steiner said, “I don’t lock my doors because last time I locked my doors they just broke my window.”
As the driver of the Durango took off, surveillance footage shows an officer taking down and arresting another suspect who had gone into the gas station.
Police caught the fleeing suspect about 5 miles away in southwest Detroit near the intersection of Woodmere and Fort Street.
Authorities made it clear there's no ongoing threat to the public, but it is an active investigation.
“So, thank god the cops are working and doing their job because we shouldn’t have to live like," Steiner said.
Michigan State Police are handling the investigation into the officer involved shooting.
