PD: Man who assaulted Waterbury cop, stole police cruiser caught in Seymour

Kristian Rivera, 33, of Waterbury, Conn., was arrested in Seymour after allegedly assaulting a Waterbury police officer and then stealing the officer's cruiser during the early morning hours of Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020, police said. less Kristian Rivera, 33, of Waterbury, Conn., was arrested in Seymour after allegedly assaulting a Waterbury police officer and then stealing the officer's cruiser during the early morning hours of Wednesday, Feb. ... more Photo: Contributed Photo / Waterbury Police Department Photo: Contributed Photo / Waterbury Police Department Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close PD: Man who assaulted Waterbury cop, stole police cruiser caught in Seymour 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

WATERBURY — A city man faces a slew of charges after he allegedly injured a Waterbury police officer before taking the officer’s marked police cruiser and prompting a manhunt early Wednesday morning, officials said.

Around 1:35 a.m. Wednesday, a Waterbury patrol officer saw a person walking on Porter Street who the officer recognized as Kristian Rivera.

Police said the officer radioed in his location to other units and made contact with Rivera, who took off running despite the officer repeatedly telling Rivera to stop.

“The officer chased Rivera and tackled him to the ground,” police said. “Rivera began to fight with the officer as the two of them were on the ground.”

But Rivera was able to break free. He ran to the police officer’s marked cruiser, hopped inside and drove off, police said.

The officer was taken to a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, including contusions and lacerations to the face.

After Rivera took off in the cruiser, Waterbury police immediately issued a broadcast to area police department for help finding Rivera and the stolen police cruiser.

The vehicle was eventually found in Seymour, in the area of Great Hill and Holbrook roads. Seymour police alerted residents to the incident around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.

State police troopers and Waterbury police responded to the area to help Seymour police search for Rivera, who was eventually found on Squantuck Road and taken into custody.

When officers took Rivera into custody, police said, he was in possession of a glass crack pipe and small amount of crack cocaine.

The stolen police car was damaged by Rivera and was towed by to Waterbury.

The 33-year-old, with a last known address on Benedict Street in Waterbury, was charged with assault on a police officer, interfering with a police officer, first-degree larceny, second-degree criminal trover, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

At the time of Rivera’s arrest, there were outstanding arrest warrants for him from police at Troop A, Troop I, Glastonbury, Watertown, West Hartford, Derby, Torrington and South Windsor.

Based on that, Rivera was also charged with third-degree robbery, third-degree assault, two counts of third-degree larceny, reckless endangerment, first-degree failure to appear, three counts of second-degree failure to appear, two counts of violation of probation, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Waterbury police said the robbery charge stemmed from an incident on Oct. 5, 2019.

At 11:14 a.m., police investigated a robbery at a gas station on Wolcott Street. During the robbery, the suspect — later identified as Rivera — jumped into the open driver’s door of a Volkswagen Passat as the owner was pumping gas.

As Rivera drove off, the victim’s hand was stuck in the handle of the gas pump and she was dragged until she fell and hit her face on the pavement, police said. The victim had a laceration on her face and minor abrasions to her arms and legs.

That day, police did not apprehend Rivera but detectives continued to investigate and positively identified the suspect as Rivera and applied for an arrest warrant. Police have been actively looking for him since they got the arrest warrant approved.

“Rivera has an extensive criminal history in the greater Waterbury area and the state which includes robberies, larcenies, burglaries, stolen motor vehicles and drug-related offenses,” police said.

Rivera was held on bonds totaling $300,000.