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Car runs through papal police barricade near campus, suspect tased







A male suspect ran through a police barricade set up for the pope's visit with his car. Photo by Arjun Malik.

Around 9:42 p.m. on Saturday night, a car crashed through a police barricade at 3800 Chestnut Street. A Penn Police officer and two National Guardsmen managed to dive out of the way just before the moment of impact, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said.

Barricades have been set up along 38th Street as part of the efforts to close off a zone for Pope Francis’s visit this weekend.

The officers at the scene managed to stop the suspect’s vehicle, but he resisted when police tried to remove him from the vehicle, Rush said. One officer’s hand was injured during the incident. At one point, the suspect began grabbing at an officer’s uniform in what appeared to be an attempt to pull the officer into the suspect’s vehicle.

At that point, the suspect was tased by a responding officer in an attempt to subdue him. Rush described the use of the taser as “what appeared to be an appropriate use of force at the time.” Rush added that this and any use of force will be subjected to further scrutiny and review.

In a video of the incident provided by College sophomore Arjun Malik, the man in the vehicle can be heard repeatedly shouting, “I know my rights, give me a warrant.” He is tased and pulled out of the vehicle at the 1:30 mark of the three-minute video.

After being tased, the suspect was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he was medically examined and found to be unharmed, Rush said. He was arrested for reckless endangerment of another person and will also be charged with resisting arrest. He will also be breathalyzed at the station, which could lead to further charges.

Rush said this was the first major incident that has occurred in relation to the Pope’s visit and corresponding road closures and barricades. “Overall, people have been extremely pleasant and cooperative,” Rush said.

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