Bellevue police arrest man suspected of shoplifting, ramming cruiser before fleeing

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - One man was arrested after allegedly ramming into a Bellevue police officer’s cruiser and then fleeing the scene, according to authorities on Monday.

At about 1:52 p.m., an officer initiated a traffic stop in the parking lot of Baker’s Supermarket at 801 Galvin Road.

An employee of the store pointed to a man not involved in the traffic stop and told the officer he had stolen alcohol. The man entered a black SUV and attempted to flee the scene, police said.

When the officer tried to do a traffic stop on the suspect, he put the SUV in reverse and rammed the cruiser.

The suspect, later identified as Johnathon Burnham, 31, drove away, and other officers pursued, the report states.

The chase went from Bellevue to Omaha and then returned to Bellevue, when police ended the chase using a “vehicle containment maneuver.”

Burnham was booked into the Sarpy County Jail for shoplifting, felony flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving, attempted assault on an officer with a motor vehicle, and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident.

The officer sustained minor injuries, was treated, and released. Burnham was not injured.