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Police run over man in chase

Authorities say an officer tackled the bicyclist, who then ended up in the path of a patrol car.

By JAMIE THOMPSON
Published October 30, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - A 38-year-old man was critically injured early Saturday after an officer ran over him in a patrol car, police said.

Detectives said Darrell L. Ward was pedaling away on a bicycle as they tried to arrest him for burglarizing a gas station about 1:30 a.m. An undercover detective on foot tried to tackle him, moving him into the path of a patrol cruiser, police said.

The officer who tried to tackle Ward - Detective James Culberson - received head and shoulder injuries, but was expected to recover, police said.

Ward remained in critical condition at Bayfront Medical Center Saturday night with a broken leg and hip and shattered ribs, and was breathing with the help of a ventilator, his mother, 65-year-old Sara Ward, said.

Although her son has a long criminal history for burglaries and drugs, Ward said she had serious questions about what happened to him.

"They should not have run over my son," Ward said.

At his bedside, she spoke softly to her son on Saturday afternoon. He did not respond, but nurses said they thought he might be able to hear her. Shaking and crying, she left after 15 minutes, saying police told her that was all the time she was allowed to spend with her son each day.

St. Petersburg police offered only basic details of the incident on Saturday.

Police spokesman Bill Proffitt said it began at 1:33 a.m. when a burglar alarm went off at a CITGO gas station at 2211 Fourth Street S.

Undercover detectives were scattered throughout the area investigating a series of "smash and grab" burglaries at local businesses, Proffitt said.

As Ward rode his bicycle on 11th Street S, about a mile from the gas station, Officer Ron Targaszewski followed him in a marked patrol cruiser. He activated his emergency lights and ordered Ward to stop, according to a police statement.

Another officer, Detective James Culberson, was following Ward on foot. He ran toward Ward and tried to capture him, but the bicycle's "momentum" knocked the detective on the ground, according to a police statement.

The statement said Ward was "redirected" into the path of Targaszewski's police car.

Before the officer could stop his car, he ran over Ward, police said.

In the intensive care unit at Bayfront Medical Center on Saturday afternoon, a police officer stood guard beside Ward's bed. If he recovers, he faces numerous criminal charges, although police did not specify them.

Ward has an extensive criminal history that includes convictions for burglary, grand theft, assault and cocaine possession. He has been to prison four times since 1993, and was released most recently in July. He had been living at home with his mother, who said he had struggled with a drug addiction.

"You try to teach your children," she said sadly Saturday afternoon.

The two officers involved in the crash were not placed on administrative leave, Proffitt said. The agency is investigating the incident as a traffic crash. Like all collisions involving officers, this one will be reviewed by agency supervisors to determine whether it was preventable, Proffitt said.

The officer in the patrol cruiser, Targaszewski, 35, has been with the department since February 1998. The detective, Culberson, 43, was hired in July 1984.

Sara Ward said she did not learn of her son's condition until late Saturday morning when a reporter knocked on her door. Ward said neither police nor hospital officials notified her, as customarily happens. She said she was waiting to hear more details about the incident.

"It was an accident," police spokesman Proffitt said. "It wasn't anything intentional."

Staff writer Alex Leary and Anne Lindberg contributed to this report. Jamie Thompson can be reached at 727 893-8455 or jthompson@sptimes.com

[Last modified October 30, 2005, 01:40:34]