Police catch suspect after chase ends in Uptown

A police chase ended Tuesday morning when a man driving a minivan rammed into a Minneapolis squad car and another vehicle on a busy corner in Uptown.

Authorities say no one was seriously injured in the collision at Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue.

The 28-year-old Minneapolis driver of the minivan was being evaluated at Hennepin County Medical Center and is expected to be arrested on suspicion of property damage and trying to flee police.

The incident began around 10:45 a.m. in Hopkins. Police received a call about a man breaking the car window of someone who lived in the 200 block of 5th Avenue N., said Sgt. Michael Glassberg. The resident and the suspect reportedly knew each other.

After Hopkins police arrived, the suspect sped off in a Ford minivan. Officers followed him east along Hwy. 7 before calling off the high-speed chase after he entered St. Louis Park, near the border of Minneapolis.

"Our officers felt public safety was an issue," Glassberg said. "We would never fault the officer for ending a pursuit. We encourage it, because most of the crimes we're going to chase for do not outweigh if someone was killed or injured."

Minneapolis police took over the pursuit once officers located the suspect in their city. He crashed into a squad car and another vehicle around 11:15 a.m., said John Elder, a spokesperson for Minneapolis police. The suspect ran, but officers took him into custody.