LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Police used a helicopter to help track down a driver accused of running over an officer and ramming two police vehicles while fleeing a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon.
The incident started around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday on Airport Hotels Boulevard and Bermuda Lane, according to court documents. That's near an apartment complex in the Edgewood neighborhood, off Fern Valley Road, not far from UPS Worldport.
LMPD detectives were conducting surveillance on a 2016 Ford Fusion with 20-year-old Kendrick Watson in the passenger seat. Watson was wanted on a warrant for sodomy.
Detectives activated their lights and siren in an attempt to stop the car driven by 22-year-old Quintel Walter, as it was backing into a parking space. According to the arrest report, Walter "immediately accelerated, ramming two police vehicles." The car continued and hit an officer standing alongside the detective's car, "lifting her off the ground and throwing her into an electric box/concrete poles."
The officer was taken to the hospital, but her condition was not released.
The vehicle continued at a high rate of speed as detectives gave chase, using an LMPD Air Unit to help track the car to an alley in the 1300 block of S. Floyd Street. That's where Walter and Watson abandoned it and continued on foot, with detectives close behind.
One detective caught up with Watson in a yard in the 1300 block of South Brook Street. A gun was found on the ground as Watson was being taken into custody. Police said the .40 caliber Glock 23 "was equipped with a machine gun diversion device commonly referred to as a switch."
Another detective caught up with Walter in the 1300 block of S. Floyd Street after seeing him jump out of the passenger side with a black Adidas backpack that police said he threw before he was arrested. Investigators searched the backpack and found six bags of fentanyl and one small bag of marijuana, according to the arrest report. Detectives found another bag of suspected fentanyl on the driver's seat of the vehicle.
Police said Walter admitted to driving the vehicle and being in possession of the gun. He was already on a felony diversion program for several other charges, including possession of a handgun.
Watson also admitted he was carrying a black backpack and tried to get rid of the narcotics as he was running from police, according to the arrest report.
In addition to the sodomy charge, Watson faces charges of fleeing or evading police, trafficking in a controlled substance, tampering with physical evidence and possession of marijuana. His bond was set at $100,000 full cash, and his next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 2.
Walter is charged with assaulting a police officer, three counts of wanton endangerment involving police officers, three counts of criminal mischief, fleeing or evading police in a motor vehicle, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, trafficking in a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence.
The judge set bond for Walter at $150,000 full cash. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 4. He also has an Oct. 9 court date on other pending charges.
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