A man who police say rammed two Council Bluffs police cruisers with his pickup truck was shot and wounded Tuesday morning by one of the officers.
Just before 3 a.m., Council Bluffs police said, officers attempted to pull over a suspicious pickup in the 3400 block of South 11th Street, near a construction contracting company that was not open for business. The driver of the pickup sped away from the area, driving recklessly, police said. Police then pursued the pickup, and the vehicles drove onto southbound I‐29 and then exited at the Highway 370 interchange.
The pickup then drove north on the frontage road that runs parallel to I‐29, police said. It eventually returned to I‐29 near the 45 mile marker by driving through the ditch that separates the roadways.
Once back on I‐29, police said, the driver of the pickup rammed two Council Bluffs police cruisers. The officer who was driving the second cruiser that had been struck discharged his service weapon, striking the pickup driver.
The 28-year-old driver, whose last known address was Bondurant, Iowa, was removed from the pickup and taken into custody.
Officers at the scene rendered medical aid until the Council Bluffs Fire Department arrived. The man then was transported to an Omaha hospital by ambulance for treatment of a gunshot wound to his arm and cuts to his face.
The lanes of southbound I‐29 were shut down for several hours as the scene was processed.
Two of the officers involved were treated at a local hospital and released.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber and the Council Bluffs Police Department reviewed what happened, and Bluffs detectives obtained felony arrest warrants for the 28-year-old on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault on a police officer and eluding officers.
Once the man is released, officials said, he will be turned over to Nebraska authorities and processed for extradition to Iowa.
The officer who fired the shots that injured the man has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation proceeds. The other four officers who were involved have been cleared to return to duty.
