BRAINTREE, MASS. (WHDH) - An Easton man is facing a slew of criminal charges after police say he intentionally crashed his vehicle into a police cruiser as officers were attempting to initiate a traffic stop.
Braintree police who learned that Gregory Venezia, 28, was the subject of an open investigation in another town attempted to stop his Honda Civic on Granite Street around 4 p.m. Wednesday, prompting him to drive away, according to Braintree Police Chief Mark Dubois.
As he continued up Granite Street, Venezia allegedly sped up, crossed into the southbound lane, and struck the rear driver’s side of an oncoming police cruiser, causing it to spin out of control, before he crashed into a concrete pole.
He was arrested without incident and hospitalized, the officer he struck was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Two knives were recovered from his vehicle, police said.
Venezia will be arraigned on charges of attempting to commit a crime, to wit murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon, destruction of property, possession of a dangerous weapon, operating to endanger, failure to stop for a police officer, committing a marked laned violation, and speeding.
In a statement, Dubois said, “This was great work by our officers to not only avoid a collision that could have been much more serious, but to also shield anyone else from potentially coming into harm’s way. We often don’t know what will happen when we put on this uniform every day and thankfully our injured officer is going to be okay and no one else was hurt in this incident.”
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