TEXAS OFFICER STRUCK

A new officer on Beaumont’s police force required medical attention March 23, when he was the victim of a suspected drunk driver. According to police reports, a rookie officer was training alongside a veteran officer mentor and assisting in a routine traffic stop when tragedy, in the form of a station wagon, struck.

At approximately 2:15 on the morning of March 23 the training officer and the new recruit were involved in the traffic stop of a suspected drunk driver on MLK Parkway at College Street. The driver of the auto was taken into custody for outstanding warrants and placed in the patrol car while the arresting officers obtained information on the suspect vehicle and filled out required paperwork.

As the officers conducted business on the side of the road, the patrol car was impacted from the rear by a 1997 Gold Saturn Station Wagon. The rookie officer, outside of the cruiser, was injured in the wreck. Neither the police trainer nor the arrested suspect sustained any reported injuries.

The driver of the offending auto, 62-year-old Richard Mitchell of Beaumont, was charged with driving while intoxicated. His bond has been set at $12,000. The injured officer was taken from the scene to the hospital where he was treated and released.