West Hartford Woman Hits Manchester Cruisers In Stolen Car: Report

MANCHESTER, CT — A West Hartford woman in a stolen vehicle is accused of hitting Manchester police cruisers and nearly injuring an officer in a desperate attempt to flee the scene of a shoplifting in that town's Buckland Hills commercial district, authorities said.

The scene unraveled on Tuesday night, when Manchester police located a stolen vehicle in the parking lot at 1428 Pleasant Valley Road. The 2012 Nissan Altima had not only been reported stolen out of Hartford, but was also involved in a shoplifting incident at Dick's Sporting Goods that occurred several hours before, police said.

Officers eventually took 51-year-old West Hartford resident Lisa French into custody after a wild sequence of events.

According to an incident report, after locating the the stolen Altima, several officers, who were in unmarked vehicles, approached the car. French attempted to escape by fleeing the scene and ramming three Manchester Police Department vehicles and another vehicle in the parking lot, according to an incident report. French also narrowly missed hitting an officer, according to an incident report.

The Altima "became disabled" in the parking lot of the Artisanal Burger Company restaurant and a witness reported seeing French and another woman leave the vehicle and dash into the Hampton Inn and Suites at 1432 Pleasant Valley Road, according to an incident report.

Officers converged on the building, located French and arrested her.

French has been charged with:

• Evading responsibility (four counts)
• Reckless driving
• Theft of a motor vehicle
• Interfering with an officer
• Criminal attempt at assault in the second degree
• Criminal attempt as assault on a public safety officer
• Possession of narcotics
• First-degree reckless endangerment

French also had an active warrant for failure to appear in court, which was served upon her arrest, police said. Her name appears in two larceny cases out of West Hartford in the state judicial system database.

She was held overnight on a $110,000 bond and was to appear in court Wednesday.