A man is in custody in Georgia after leading police on an interstate pursuit after he jumped into a Chattanooga police vehicle Sunday morning, police said.
Chattanooga police were responding to an incident at a convenience store in the 2700 block of Rossville Boulevard, about two miles from the Georgia state line, spokesperson Sgt. Jeremy Eames told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The store clerk had been in a dispute with a shoplifting suspect, later identified as 42-year-old Christopher Parker, who threw a drink at her and left the store, according to a news release.
Police later found Parker walking on the side of I-24 East.
The officer got out of his vehicle to talk to Parker, who then began fighting with the officer and twice tried to throw the officer down an embankment on the interstate, Eames said. Parker eventually broke free and jumped into the officer’s Ford Explorer, and the officer fired shots at the suspect, though he was not struck, according to the news release.
Parker got on I-24 and headed south toward I-75 southbound, where the Georgia State Patrol took over the pursuit, Eames said.
Pursuing troopers then performed a PIT maneuver in Ringgold to stop the vehicle and secured all police equipment that was inside.
Parker fled into a wooded area but was eventually apprehended with the help of a police K-9, according to the GSP, adding that no injuries had been reported.
Police said the vehicle was rendered inoperable.
Parker was booked in the Catoosa County jail, where he faces a slew of charges, including obstruction of officers, fleeing police and possession of methamphetamine. He also will face charges in Tennessee, Eames said.
The Tennessee officer who was involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave per department policy, according to the release.
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