Local News in Brief : Car Steers Into Officer; Canoga Park Man Held
A Canoga Park man was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he drove his car into an off-duty Los Angeles police officer Tuesday morning, authorities said.
The officer, Maurice Ballard, 31, was slightly injured after he left an Encino restaurant, police said.
Detective Ted Ball of the North Hollywood Division said Ballard walked out of Hamburger Hamlet in the 15900 block of Ventura Boulevard at 1 a.m. and saw a disturbance involving several men near the street.
Before Ballard could intervene, Ball said, one of the men got into a car and drove it directly at the officer. Ballard attempted to jump out of the way but was struck by the car, Ball said. The officer fired an undisclosed number of shots at the driver but did not hit him, Ball said.
The car sped away but was stopped minutes later, and the driver, Terry Adams, 25, was arrested, police said.
Ballard was taken to North Hollywood Medical Center, where he was treated and released.
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