MEMPHIS, Tenn — A man is facing charges after stealing a pickup truck, hitting a Memphis police cruiser and then crashing into two other cars during a chase Wednesday morning in Whitehaven.
Joseph Polk, 18, has been charged with aggravated assault on a first responder, evading arrest, theft of property, speeding, disregarding a red light, reckless driving and no driver's license. He is in the Shelby County Jail on $15,000 bond, according to court records.
According to an affidavit, the Memphis Police Department (MPD) said officers were responding to a suspicious person call June 26, 2024, around 7 a.m. in the 3100 block of Hernando Road in relation to a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado stolen from West Memphis, Arkansas.
The officers saw the pickup truck at the Red Roof Inn on Elvis Presley Boulevard. When the officers approached, a man began placing items into the truck and then reversed the truck into the police cruiser as they were getting out, pinning one officer.
The man then sped off, driving south on Elvis Presley Boulevard, and police gave chase. The pickup truck driver turned on East Raines Road, accelerating to 70 mph and running a traffic light at the Raines and Millbranch Road intersection. There, he crashed into another vehicle, the affidavit said.
The suspect ran out of the truck, but was caught by police and taken to a hospital in non-critical condition, investigators said.
When ABC24 crew members arrived at the scene, they saw three damaged cars, and police later told ABC24 that the suspect had crashed into two cars while trying to avoid arrest.
The occupants of the other two cars were taken to the hospital in non-critical condition. The officer who had been pinned by the truck was checked by the Memphis Fire Department, but did not go to a hospital.
