Cop Hit By Shoplifter's Getaway Driver At South Shore Plaza: PD

BRAINTREE, MA — A police officer was hit by a car Wednesday while trying to stop a Medford and Brockton teens accused of shoplifting, police said.

Around 5:30 p.m., officers chased two people at the South Shore Plaza after police said they stole merchandise from a store and ran out, the Patriot Ledger reported. According to police the suspects were trying to get in a getaway car, but police stopped them right in front of the car. One of the officers was in front of the car the suspects tried getting into. Police told the Patriot Ledger the officer tried to stop the car, but the getaway driver accelerated and struck him. The officer was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

According to police, the getaway car, a brown Toyota Camry, pulled onto Common Street. A cruiser was nearby and chased the car as it swerved into the wrong lane twice, police said. While driving in the wrong lane, police said the suspects collided with an SUV head-on. The SUV had two occupants, a 50-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman, both from Quincy, the Patriot Ledger reported. Both were hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries.

Police identified the getaway driver as Anthony Bynum, 18, of Medford. He was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, operating a motor vehicle to endanger, driving with a suspended license, larceny over $1,200, and several traffic violations. He's expected to be arraigned Thursday. The two teens accused of shoplifting were charged with larceny over $1,200. One of the teens, a 16-year-old boy, was also charged with uttering a counterfeit note.

For more on this story, check out the Patriot Ledger

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