JENNINGS

Police arrested a man suspected of stealing a police car and hitting a police officer with it in his attempt to get away Thursday evening.

The Jennings officer was taken to a hospital with ankle and shoulder injuries.

Jennings Police Sgt. Fred Morton identified the patrolman as Sean Connors. Connors recognized a man suspected of criminal activity in the area of Greenhaven Drive and Lena Avenue shortly before 6:45 p.m.

Connors followed the man for two blocks and then pursued him on foot. In the 7000 block of Greenhaven, the suspect doubled back toward the police car.

"Somehow, I don't know how, he got into the officer's patrol car," Morton said.

As the suspect drove away, the police car hit Connors.

A second Jennings officer fired at the car, blowing out a window but not hitting the suspect, Morton said.

Police from several municipalities came to the scene to help search, but Morton said they did not make a high-speed pursuit. A police helicopter joined the search.

About 15 minutes later, the car was found abandoned in the 5900 block of Lalite Avenue, near Riverview Boulevard, just across the city line in St. Louis. The suspect was then taken into custody in an alley about seven blocks away, between Helen and Hodiamont avenues in Jennings. The suspect was not identified, pending the filing of charges.

Connors' handgun, a .40-caliber semiautomatic, was missing after the arrest.