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Update: Clearwater Police Accuse Man of Assaulting an Officer with a Motor Vehicle

Chris Chittarath | Clearwater Police | Crime

The incident began with a report of reckless driving on Clearwater Beach. A Clearwater police officer shot at the driver when he tried to run over the officer, according to the Clearwater Police Department.

CLEARWATER – A St. Petersburg man has been arrested after attempting to run over a police officer who shot at the car in self defense, according to Clearwater police.

Chris Chittarath, 23, of 3257 57th Ave. N in St. Petersburg, has been identified as the driver of the 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer involved the incident on Clearwater Beach, police said. He will be taken to the Pinellas County Jail and charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a motor vehicle, fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest without violence and driving with a suspended license. Additional charges may be forthcoming as the investigation continues, police said. Chittarath has multiple arrests in Pinellas County on driving-related charges, including a previous fleeing and eluding, police said.

The incident began about 11 p.m. Sunday (June 26) with a report of a reckless vehicle on S Gulfview Boulevard on Clearwater Beach. Police Officer Adam Wall answered the call and saw the Lance  pull into the parking lot of Shephard’s and tried to make contact. The Lancer then fled into the parking lot of the neighboring Holiday Inn. At some point, the vehicle drove over some bushes and a curb and toward Wall in a reckless and threatening manner, police said. Wall, who said he was in fear of his life, shot at the vehicle. The vehicle fled the scene south across Sand Key and was eventually stopped in Belleair. Wall has been with the Clearwater Police Department since January 2014.

This is the third officer-involved shooting this weekend. Pinellas Park police on Saturday (June 25) shot a man who, they said, had shot his son and began shooting at them. The man later died at Northside Hospital. Hillsborough sheriff’s deputies shot a man Sunday (June 26) who, they said, shot at them. The man, who is in the hospital, has been charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. Both those incidents began as domestic disturbances.

For information about the Clearwater police, go to clearwaterpolice.org.

Clearwater Police | Officer-Involved Shooting | Clearwater Beach | Belleair | TB Reporter

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