Officer pulls over one alleged drunk; a second man 
arrives, steals the patrol vehicle and crashes it 


(INDEPENDENCE, Kan) -- An police officer who pulled a man over on
suspicion of drunken driving early Sunday ended up stranded after a 
second man jumped into his patrol car and sped off. 

The officer stopped the first driver about 1 a.m. at Winner Road and Ash
Avenue, said Sgt. John Passiglia of the Independence Police Department. 
Suspecting that the driver was intoxicated, the officer began to give 
him a sobriety test.

Meanwhile, another vehicle stopped nearby and a man began arguing with the
officer, insisting that the driver undergoing the sobriety test be released, 
Passiglia said.

The man then walked toward the officer with his hand in his pocket. 
The officer took cover behind his car and ordered the man to stop, but 
the man climbed into the patrol car and drove off,  heading west on Winner.

Passiglia said the abandoned police car was found a few minutes later along   Winner just south of Truman Road. It had struck a light pole and 
slid down a grass slope before coming to rest on a guy wire of another 
light pole.

Police found the suspect, a 33-year-old Independence man, nearby at Truman
Road and Franklin Avenue. He was arrested and is being held on charges of
auto theft, careless driving, leaving the scene a an accident and driving 
while intoxicated.

The driver of the car the police officer pulled over was arrested on 
a change of driving while intoxicated.

(iSyndicate;The Kansas City Star; Oct 9, 2000). Terms and Conditions:
Copyright(c) 2000 LEXIS-NEXIS, a division a Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights
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