Assisted by Department of Public Safety and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Eugene police blockaded sections of campus late Monday night in a joint effort to capture a man responsible for assaulting a sheriff’s deputy.
The manhunt began when EPD attempted to stop a vehicle containing three occupants. The vehicle failed to yield, and EPD pursued as the vehicle drove up one-way streets and into the EmX lane.
When the vehicle stopped on East 12th Avenue, the driver bolted, leaving two passengers behind. One, an inebriated woman, was the vehicle’s owner. She told Eugene police that she had been too drunk to drive. The passengers stated that they had implored the driver to pull over but that he had refused, according to EPD spokeswoman Kerry Delf.
According to the Sgt. Clint Riley, after the driver fled, one of the two units responding from the Sheriff’s Office spotted a man matching the fugitive’s description. Approaching the man on foot, a deputy attempted to detain him. The man became combative, striking the deputy. In the struggle the deputy, who sustained minor injuries, lost his footing, and the fugitive escaped.
K-9 units were brought in, but the suspect still evaded capture.
Students driving through the campus area blockade were stopped as police scanned their cars and warned them about the suspect.
“We were driving down Franklin, and we saw fireworks of police lights,” said Sarah Hamilton, a University student, “there were so many cars; the whole campus was lit; I’ve never seen so many cop cars.”
“I quit counting after 20,” Hamilton said.