Sheriff's Deputy Injured Trying To Stop Suspect In Police Pursuit

ABERDEEN, MD — A Harford County sheriff's deputy was injured Tuesday afternoon during an incident that unfolded on southbound Interstate 95 in Harford County.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said during a news conference that around 11:25 a.m. Aug. 26, Lt. Robert Burgess was in an unmarked vehicle when he saw a box truck driving erratically. The driver took off when Burgess tried to conduct a traffic stop. The truck was then involved in two crashes, Gahler said. There were no injuries from either crash.

The box truck driver entered I-95 at which time Maryland State Police and other agencies joined the pursuit. The driver went northbound in the southbound lanes, Gahler said at the news conference. While trying to stop the box truck using stop sticks, Burgess, who was outside his vehicle, was seriously injured, Gahler said.

After the crashes, the driver abandoned the box truck and took off on foot. A lookout was given for an individual walking on the shoulder of the highway. An officer came across the suspect and began talking to him while he was walking, but he was unresponsive. The man was taken to a hospital, Gahler said.

The rental truck held a container of cooking oil that investigators linked to a theft at an Applebee's in Aberdeen, officials said.

Interstate 95 was shut down in both directions from exit 89 to the Maryland House. The injured deputy was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma and was alert and conscious at the time, officials said. Burgess is a 29-year member of the Harford County Sheriff's Office and assigned to the community policing division. He remains in stable condition, the sheriff's office disclosed.

The suspect was arrested and taken into custody shortly after 1 p.m.

"We understand there are many witnesses and videos from this incident. If anyone has information they believe may be helpful, please contact Detective Phil Golden with our Criminal Investigations Division at goldenp@harfordsheriff.org," the sheriff's office stated.