RICHLAND, Mich. — A man was taken to the hospital in serious condition after the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office says he assaulted a police officer and led several departments on a multi-county chase.
Officers from the Richland Village Police Department pulled over a car for a stolen plate violation just after midnight Monday near M-89 and E D Avenue.
Police say the driver assaulted the officer with a pocketknife and took off.
The officer, who received minor injuries, tried to follow the car, but it got away.
Kalamazoo County deputies later spotted the car in Ross Township, near E G Avenue and N. 37th Street.
Deputies chased the car through the village of Augusta, east on M-96/Dickman Road and into the city of Battle Creek.
There, officers with the Battle Creek Police Department tried to deploy spike strips at the intersection of Clark Road and Dickman Road, but the driver was able to avoid them.
Police deployed spike strips again at the intersection of Clark Rd. and Fort Custer Drive, which made the driver lose control and crash on Clark Rd.
First responders had to remove the suspect from the car, and he was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
The sheriff’s office says the suspect is a 34-year-old man from Portage.
