A Baltimore police officer was forced to fire his weapon after he was hit by a car two times Saturday afternoon, police said.
The incident, involving a 63-year-old woman, happened in northeast Baltimore. That woman is in custody after originally leaving to get away, but returning to the scene to surrender.
People in the Kensington Gate community, where it happened, have a hard time believing what they saw. Police say Fredia Powell hit an officer with her car after he tried to intervene in an argument.
"We're talking about a very unusual set of circumstances," said Lt. Jarron Jackson, a Baltimore Police spokesman.
According to charging documents, police were called to the 5200 block of Leith Road where a contractor for Baltimore Gas and Electric was sitting in his vehicle and said he felt threatened after he said Powell told him to leave.
Police said the arriving officer tried to talk to Powell when she got in her car to drive away. The officer became entangled in the vehicle and was drug 150 feet, according to police, before he freed himself and was hit by Powell's vehicle.
"Witnesses and citizens came out to assist the officer, trying to help him back to his feet," Jackson said. "As they were doing this, they realized the woman in the vehicle had returned to the scene and was coming back toward the officer."
Police said Powell hit him again, sending the officer flying over her windshield before he hit the ground and fired a single shot, missing Powell as she drove away. She eventually returned and surrendered.
"We're fortunate that we're not talking about a tragedy here," Jackson said. "We're talking about a person who decided to use a vehicle as a weapon to strike a uniformed police officer, not once, but twice."
That officer, a 2-year member of the force, is back on patrol after being treated and released from Shock Trauma.
Powell remains behind bars after being charged with assault and 1st degree attempted murder, among other charges.
