Authorities: Suspect shot during chase made threats toward police
A 27-year-old man shot by law enforcement officers during a chase had told relatives he was going out "in a blaze of glory" and planned to kill police officers, authorities said Thursday.
Roman Urevich Tokarev stole a relative's pickup truck and made the threatening statements toward authorities on Wednesday, before officers from several law enforcement agencies located him in Hastings and tried to arrest him, said Dave Bellows, chief deputy for the Dakota County Sheriff's Office.
Tokarev led officers on a chase and displayed a handgun. When officers tried to box him in, Tokarev rammed his truck against their squad cars, Bellows said.
A Dakota County sheriff's deputy, a Hastings police officer and an officer from the state Department of Corrections all fired shots at Tokarev, who was shot multiple times and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.
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"The information that was received by officers in the field leading up to this event really painted a picture of someone that was really dangerous," Bellows said. "Clearly, the law enforcement officers felt in fear of their lives."
A warrant for Tokarev's arrest was issued after he violated the terms of his parole. He was convicted in 2005 for aggravated robbery and was released from prison in May of this year.
His whereabouts were unknown until a relative called police to report that he was making threats and had stolen the pickup, said Department of Public Safety spokesman Andy Skoogman.
The three officers who fired shots, as well as two other officers who discharged bean bags or Tasers during the incident, were placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure, Skoogman said.
Authorities said they didn't know Tokarev's condition, and a Regions Hospital spokeswoman said there was no information available about Tokarev.
Skoogman said the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate the incident with help from Dakota County sheriff's investigators.
