San Diego

Man Arrested After Driving into Deputy, Leading Authorities on Chase in Valley Center

The man rammed a deputy with his car, led the authorities on a chase and wrestled a Sheriff's dog

Deputies arrested a man on multiple felony charges after he struck a deputy with his car and lead authorities on a pursuit through Valley Center Friday.

Around 11 a.m., deputies investigated a suspicious car parked on the Pala Indian Reservation. According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, there was a couple inside the car.

The woman, Emily McClearen, was detained without incident, deputies said. She was later arrested for an outstanding warrant.

Once they tried to detain Freeman, he slid into the driver's seat and drove straight into one of the deputies, ramming him with his car. After that, Freeman made his getaway, speeding away from the scene.

Deputies quickly took off in pursuit of Freeman.

In a chase that lasted about seven minutes, Freeman raced north down Pala Temecula Road for roughly 6.5 miles, deputies said. The pursuit ended when the suspect crashed at the 47800 block of Pala Road in Riverside County.

At this point, he got out of his car and ran into a thickly forested area, according to the Sheriff's Department.

One deputy also got out of his vehicle and chased after Freeman, suffering a minor injury while running after him.

SDSO, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol were involved in the incident.

While the authorities cordoned off the area, a SDSO canine was unleashed into the woods. The dog soon sniffed Freeman out and found him hiding in the bushes. When Freeman saw the dog, he took out a knife and started attacking it.

As Freeman kept trying to stab the canine, deputies pounced on him and managed to wrestle the knife away. Even then, he kept trying to fight with the deputies and the dog.

Eventually, he was handcuffed and hospitalized with multiple wounds from fighting the dog. During the fight, the Sheriff's canine suffered a minor injury, deputies said.

The deputy struck by Freeman's car also suffered a minor injury.

Freeman was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment and will later be booked into County Jail, according to the Sheriff's Department. For the safety of the public and first responders, Pala Temecula Road was closed for approximately one hour.

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