Man accused of purposely hitting police cruiser charged with attempted murder
A man who police say intentionally crashed his vehicle into a police cruiser on Saturday morning has been charged with attempted murder.
Police were called to the area of Ellesmere Road and Gander Drive, just east of Markham Road, shortly before 8 a.m.
In a news release on Saturday afternoon, police said an officer was stopped at an intersection in a marked vehicle when the driver of another vehicle allegedly hit it.
In a tweet, Toronto police chief James Ramer said the driver hit the police cruiser twice before getting out of the car armed with a knife.
"The officer attempted to de-escalate but the man refused to drop the knife," Ramer said in the tweet.
Ramer said other officers attended the scene and used de-escalation tactics to arrest the driver safely.
In addition to the attempted murder charge, the 47-year-old man of Toronto faces the following: one count of dangerous operation of a vehicle, two counts of assault of a peace officer with a weapon, one count of weapons dangerous, and one count of failing to comply with a release order.
The man is expected to appear in court on Sunday.
