Crime & Safety

[Update] Westport Officer Struck By Stolen Car Following I-95 Chase

Following the report of an assault in Norwalk, a Westport officer positioned himself at exit 18 and followed the vehicle into Bridgeport where a Westport patrol car was eventually struck by the suspect.

Update: 1:30 p.m.

An argument in a South Norwalk residence over an unpaid loan escalated into a car chase on I-95 Thursday morning that included the fleeing driver ramming a Westport police cruiser and attempting to escape on foot in Bridgeport, police said.

Norwalk Police became involved at 12:38 a.m., when a woman at 15 Burwell St. reported she had been assaulted. When officers arrived, they said the woman had blood on her clothes and a towel wrapped around her left wrist.

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She said she had been in an argument with a man to whom she had lent $700 who punched her in the face and threw a bar glass that struck her in the wrist. She said he also pulled a phone away from her when she attempted to dial 911.

A receipt he’d given her for the loan identified him as Bridgeport resident Rolf Johnson. She said he left in a green Toyota RAV4 SUV.

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Original Story:

At about 1:30 a.m. Norwalk Police placed a hotline broadcast out in regards to the assault and the Westport officer was able to locate the stolen vehicle and begin the pursuit.

After the Westport Officer attempted to stop the vehicle it began to flee on I-95 to exit 27 in Bridgeport, where it entered city streets, police said. 

The Toyota Rav 4 drove off the street around several parked cars in attempt to avoid the Police. The vehicle re-entered the road driving at a Westport vehicle and struck the front end of the patrol car. 

The Toyota continued for a short distance and hit a parked vehicle. At that point the operator, later identified as 42-year-old Rolf Johnson, fled on foot and was subsequently taken into custody by a Westport Officer, police said.

Rolf, of 249 Six Street, Bridgeport was charged with third-degree larceny, assault on a police officer, interfering with police, engaging police in pursuit, operating under suspension and reckless driving. Johnson is also facing pending charges in Norwalk for the alleged assault. He is being held on $12,500 bond.           

The passenger of the vehicle was identified as 49-year-old Warren Goodman, of 99 Lakeside Drive, Bridgeport. Goodman was charged with third-degree larceny and is being held on $2,000 bond.


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