SLIDELL, La. – Police in Louisiana arrested a man accused of dragging an officer with his vehicle and attempting to run over another officer after shoplifting from Walmart.
On Tuesday, Slidell police responded to the Walmart after getting a call about a shoplifting in progress.
Police say they found 51-year-old Robert E. Myers, of Picayune, Mississippi, trying to flee the scene. Two officers approached Myers while he was sitting inside of his 1996 Ford F-150 pickup truck in the parking lot.
When they asked Myers to step out and speak with them, Myers allegedly refused and placed the truck in drive. One officer tried to stop him, but Myers accelerated, dragging the officer for a short distance through the Walmart parking lot, police said. The officer managed to push himself away from the vehicle and out of the path of the wheels.
As Myers aggressively accelerated through the Walmart parking lot, he allegedly attempted to run over another officer who was able to evade him.
Police responding to the scene reported seeing Myers on Gause Boulevard as he was attempting to get onto the I-10 highway. Slidell officers chased Myers into Mississippi, where he ultimately lost control of his truck on Highway 607.
After Myers was taken into custody, he told officers that “he didn’t think they could chase him into a different state,” according to a police news release.
Mississippi Highway Patrol, who assisted Slidell Police during the pursuit, booked Myers for driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, and no insurance.
Once Myers is charged in Mississippi, he will be extradited back to Louisiana where he will face multiple charges from Slidell authorities, including third offense felony theft, aggravated flight from an officer, aggravated battery of a police officer, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle upon a peace officer, no insurance, and driving with a suspended license.
Myers suffered minor injuries during the crash. No Slidell officers were injured during the incident.
