Suspect shot, officer hurt, after pursuit in Ocean View

A Hurlock, Maryland man was shot after police said he tried to drive an SUV at an Ocean View police officer and a Worcester County Sheriff's deputy Saturday night.

The suspect — who was not named by police — was listed in serious condition Sunday, Delaware State Police said. The names of the Ocean View police officer and Worcester County Sheriff's deputy were not available early Sunday as investigations continue in both states.

UPDATE: Police ID suspect from multistate chase

State police said that around 10:13 p.m. Saturday an Ocean View Police officer became involved in a vehicle pursuit while assisting the Worcester County Sheriff's Office.

The officer and Worcester deputies were pursuing a black Infinity sports utility vehicle as it drove down Burbage Road and crossed over Windmill Drive onto Pine Grove Lane, which is a dead end street, police said.

The driver of the SUV then came to a stop at the end of the road and accelerated backward at a high speed directly into the front of the fully marked Ocean View Police officer's patrol vehicle, pushing it off the roadway, police said. The suspect continued backing at a high rate of speed almost striking a fully marked Worcester County Sheriff's deputy's vehicle and smashed into a mailbox, stopping momentarily.

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Police said the SUV then drove forward and entered into an empty residential lot where it turned around and began driving toward a sheriff's deputy who was standing outside of his vehicle in the driveway of the lot. The Ocean View officer was able to exit his patrol vehicle and run up to where the deputy was standing as the SUV accelerated toward the two law enforcement officers who were yelling commands to stop.

Both the officer and the deputy fired multiple rounds at the Infinity before the driver came to a stop in a private driveway in the 36000 block of Pine Grove Lane, police said.

Pine Grove Lane resident Marshall Goldsmith said he was watching TV between 10 and 10:30 p.m. when he heard a commotion outside and then the sound of the collision.

"I saw the street was lit up with police cars and rescue trucks," he said. "Ten or 12 cars, it was quite a sight to see."

He then heard a few rounds of gunshots. Officers were warning anyone outside to stay in their homes, so Goldsmith said he couldn't get close enough to see much.

"One of the vehicles was still smoking, so I really didn't want to go near it in case it caught fire or something," he said.

He didn't know what had happened until a neighbor found a Facebook post about it and forwarded it to him Sunday, he said.

The officer and deputies removed the injured suspect, who is described as a 31-year-old Hurlock, Maryland man, from the SUV and rendered first aid until the arrival of emergency services personnel. The suspect was then transported to an area hospital where he is currently admitted in serious condition. His name was withheld, police said Sunday.

The Ocean View officer, a 5-year veteran, was also transported to an area hospital where he was treated and released with non-life-threatening injuries he sustained in the collision, police said. The deputy was uninjured in the incident.

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The name of the Worcester County Sheriff's deputy involved in the shooting was not being released Sunday morning, said Lt. Ed Schreier of the Worcester County Sheriff's Office. The name of the Ocean View officer is also being withheld. Ocean View Police Chief Kenneth McLaughlin said this is policy during an investigation, both to ensure the security of officers involved in a shooting and to preserve their recall of the events.

The chase that ended in Ocean View began around 8:10 p.m. in Ocean City, Schreier said. The suspect led deputies, Maryland State Police, Maryland Natural Resources Police and Berlin Police on an extended pursuit in which the suspect ditched multiple vehicles before continuing in freshly-stolen ones, Schreier said.

A Worcester County deputy was the first to spot the suspect in the Maryland resort. The suspect was driving erratically and the deputy tried to stop him, Schreier said.

The suspect fled toward Berlin, where he crashed the vehicle. Stealing another vehicle, the suspect drove in the direction of Route 90, police said. Police found the second vehicle abandoned along the highway.

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Police K-9 units were called in to conduct a search for the suspect, who had fled on foot. K-9 tracked the suspect to an area near Worcester Highway, where it appeared he had stolen another vehicle, Schreier said. This third vehicle was later found abandoned on St. Martin's Neck Road near Lighthouse Sound. Police set up a perimeter and expanded the search in that area.

While there, police were alerted to a burglary in which another vehicle had been taken. As officers approached the site of the burglary, the suspect was observed fleeing in a black SUV, Schreier said. Police followed the vehicle across the state line and ultimately into the Ocean View area.

The investigation into the Ocean View incident is being conducted by the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit and is in its early stages. Several other investigations are being conducted in Maryland, Schreier said.

In addition to the criminal investigations into the actions of the suspect, a criminal investigation by the Delaware State Police is also examining the actions of the officers involved in the shooting, in tandem with a review by the U.S. Department of Justice, to determine whether the use of deadly force was justified. Internal administrative investigations will also be undertaken by the Worcester County Sheriff's Office and the Ocean View Police Department to determine if their officers violated policy in the vehicular pursuit and the use of force, McLaughlin said.

When asked about the last deputy-involved shooting, Schreier said it had been several years.

"I'm third generation law enforcement, my son is a state trooper," McLaughlin said. "Just in my family – and that's mostly in Baltimore City and County – we have over 200 years law enforcement experience without a shot fired. It's a rare thing across the country for something like this to happen — especially here.

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"We have only one previous shooting incident in the entire history of this department, and that was in 1991, and the department was founded in 1959."

But times are changing, McLaughlin said. Law enforcement organizations are facing new dangers and resources and staffing issues leave officers underprepared to handle the increase in public safety needs, he said.

"This sort of thing just didn't happen 10 to 20 years ago," he said.

This report will be updated as more details are released.