Charges filed against driver accused of hitting Crystal police officer

Charges have been filed against an 18-year-old Iowa man who allegedly struck a Crystal police officer Thursday afternoon.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County Circuit Court, Shi Sho, 18, of Hubbell, Iowa, was charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

The complaint states that the Minnesota State Patrol attempted a traffic stop on Thursday but the vehicle did not pull over, leading to a pursuit. Eventually law enforcement was able to box in the suspect vehicle.

While officers were attempting to arrest the driver, Sho, he started ramming squad cars with the vehicle and struck a Crystal police officer, according to the complaint.

3 in custody, officer hospitalized after incident on W Broadway Avenue in Crystal

The complaint states that a witness gave investigators footage of the incident recorded on a cell phone.

The footage shows the suspect vehicle stopped with several officers surrounding it. The complaint states that in an attempt to arrest the driver, one of the officers tried to break the driver’s side window. The vehicle is then seen reversing and hitting another car before pinning the victim against a squad car. The vehicle then drives forward, knocking the officer to the ground before appearing to run over the victim’s legs.

The officer was taken to the hospital and was found to have suffered a serious hematoma, the complaint states. According to the Crystal Police Department, the officer was set to be released from the hospital on Friday.

According to the complaint, Sho admitted to fleeing from police and that he saw an officer matching the victim’s description standing next to his car. He stated that he tried to get away but did not know he had struck the officer.

Sho remains in custody at the Hennepin County Jail.

Two juveniles were also taken into custody in connection with the incident.