A police officer was flown to a hospital after being stabbed Tuesday in Taunton, Massachusetts, and three or four others were also hurt.
The incident began around 6:45 p.m. when officers tried to stop a vehicle on County Street. According to police, a second driver with no connection to that vehicle pulled up and started shouting at officers before driving off.
Police say they didn't chase that man's Honda Accord, but minutes later, another officer tried to stop him after seeing him driving erratically.
The driver allegedly tried to hit an officer. Police chased the suspect, who crashed into a house on West Britannia Street, according to Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh.
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When the officers followed the man into the house, where authorities believe he lives, "the suspect took a knife and stabbed one of my officers multiple times," Walsh said.
One officer was flown by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital after police say he sustained slash wounds to the face and the back of his head. Walsh said that man's injuries are serious but non-life-threatening.
In total, Walsh said four or five officers were injured with lacerations or stab wounds, and that all were taken to hospitals. In a press release, the Taunton Police Department later said that Walsh was among five injured officers, being treated for a puncture wound to the torso.
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The suspect also suffered minor injuries from a stun gun and was taken to a hospital. Walsh said Tuesday night he had not yet been formally charged; his identity was not immediately released.
The man was taken into custody around 7 p.m., about 15 minutes after his first interaction with the officers who stopped another vehicle.
"When our men and women in uniform at the Taunton PD walk out the door every day for their shift, they never know what they're going to face," "When our police officers are injured, that affects the whole entire department, it affects this whole entire community, and we stand by our law enforcement officers."
Walsh said the investigation is ongoing.
