Suspect in custody in officer-involved shooting
Carla Byron reports
LAKELAND, Fla. – A suspect who crashed into a Lakeland police vehicle along U.S. Highway 98 and led officers on a pursuit Monday afternoon is behind bars now, investigators said.
Investigators also said officers with the Lakeland Police Department fired shots at the suspect, 57-year-old John Alfred Hoffman, when he crashed into a police vehicle.
It all started just before 12:45 p.m., when Lakeland Police received a call about a man in a white Lincoln sedan who appeared to be impaired. Authorities said the vehicle had been stopped at a stop sign in the 1700 block of Lakehurst Avenue and was still traveling.
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Officers attempted to speak with the suspect, but he woke up and ran away, crashing into a nearby vehicle. Police did not pursue the suspect, but he was seen again at a gas station in the 3400 block of U.S. 98 North.
Authorities said LPD officers again attempted to stop the suspect, but he again fled in a vehicle, and again officers did not pursue him.
Shortly after 1:15 p.m., the suspect’s vehicle was spotted again in the Village Plaza parking lot. As officers approached the suspect’s vehicle, the suspect jumped from the back seat to the front seat and crashed multiple times into two police vehicles in an attempt to flee.
Investigators said one of the responding Lakeland Police officers fired multiple shots at the suspect, who then fled the scene and police pursued him from U.S. 98 North to Wedgewood Estates Boulevard, where he crashed near Douglas M. Cook Park.
Investigators said one officer sustained minor injuries and was treated and released from Lakeland Regional Medical Center, and Hoffman was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for evaluation but did not have any visible injuries and was transported to the Polk County Jail.
Hoffman has a criminal history of more than 30 criminal charges and 10 felony convictions, according to police. In addition to the charges filed Monday, he also had outstanding felony warrants out of Sumter and Volusia counties.
Police said the 10th Judicial District State Attorney’s Office Officer-Involved Fatality Task Force will be investigating the incident, which is standard practice in all officer-involved shootings.
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