MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Law enforcement officers in this southern Oregon city shot and wounded two people in a pickup truck Thursday after the truck drove straight at officers who had been following it, ramming an occupied police SUV, a police spokesman said.
The man and woman in the white 1998 Dodge truck were believed to be wanted in Idaho for ramming a police car and stealing a car, Medford police Lt. Mike Budreau said. He declined to say where in Idaho those crimes took place.
The two were taken to a hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds and remained there Thursday night, Budreau said. He had no information on their conditions.
A male officer inside the rammed SUV suffered minor injuries.
Four officers fired, two from the Medford police, as well as one U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent and one officer from the Oregon Department of Justice, Budreau said.
Neither the injured man and woman nor the officers were immediately identified.
Medford police, as well as officers from the ATF, Oregon Justice Department, the U.S. Marshals Service and Oregon State Police started following the pickup after it was spotted about 3 p.m. Thursday, Budreau said. The two people inside were believed to be armed and dangerous, he said.
The driver noticed he was being followed and turned into a cul-de-sac. As officers tried to set up spike strips at the entrance to the cul-de-sac, the pickup driver accelerated and intentionally hit the parked, occupied police SUV, Budreau said. The four officers fired and the pickup crashed into a nearby yard.
The Medford officers who fired have been placed on administrative leave.
The shooting will be investigated by a multi-agency team.
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