A man tried to snatch a purse on South Beach. An officer pursued. A cop car ended things
An officer who was chasing a robbery suspect in Miami Beach was “accidentally struck” by a police cruiser Thursday night, local authorities said.
The officer was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital . The suspect, who was also hit by the cruiser, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. Both of them are expected to be OK, said Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez. By Friday morning, the officer was at home recovering.
The suspect, identified Friday as Lajuan White, 29, now faces charges including robbery by sudden snatching, cocaine possession, resisting without violence and possession of drug paraphernalia. He remains hospitalized.
It all started around 6:30 p.m. when White yanked a purse from a woman walking in the 2200 block of the beachwalk in South Beach, police said. The suspect, who was riding a bicycle, then took off.
According to White’s arrest affidavit, a witness — while calling 911 for help — followed close behind.
Soon after, three officers tried to stop White, but he continued to ride away, according to the report.
Video posted by Only in Dade on Twitter showed multiple police cruisers with their lights on blocking the road near the W South Beach hotel.
At some point, an officer who was on foot began “struggling” with the suspect when another officer, who was in a cruiser, “accidentally struck” them, Rodriguez said. He said the officer was taken to the hospital as “a precaution.” Both were knocked to the ground.
WSVN video shows the officer arriving to the hospital on a gurney with a neck brace.
White, according to the report, had several baggies of cocaine and drug paraphernalia on him when he was taken into custody.
The woman whose purse was stolen suffered bruises, police said. Video in the area showed the purse snatching and White running away, according to the report.
This story was originally published January 28, 2022 at 8:42 AM.
