Officer Damian Colon was on patrol when he spotted a 2016 Honda SUV reported stolen out of Newark heading down Green Street at 1:15 a.m. Thursday, July 20, Detective Sean Bannon said.
Colon tried to pull the driver over, the detective said. but he hit the gas instead.
A short time later, the SUV careened across the sidewalk and crashed into a handicapped parking sign at 1 Bergen Plaza, Bannon said.
The driver — Angel Quinones of Newark — got out and tried to run, but Colon quickly chased him down in front of the courthouse, the detective said.
Hackensack police and Bergen County sheriff’s officers assisted, Bannon said, thanking them on behalf of his department.
Besides the stolen car, Quinones had a wallet, credit cards and a retired law enforcement card taken from another vehicle.
He was first sent to Hackensack University Medical Center for an evaluation of possible injuries from the crash.
Then he was booked into the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on charges of receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, eluding and possession of paraphernalia and a small amount of crack.