Glendale Police say a person jumped into a patrol vehicle in the area of an immigration protest on Feb. 2.
Per a brief statement, the person involved drove the vehicle away for a short distance, but the vehicle was recovered.
Five patrol cars were damaged during the protest, and several officers were victims of aggravated assault, police said.
"Many of the uninvolved people in the area, such as employees to neighboring businesses, had to shelter in place," police said. "Many of their vehicles suffered extensive damage as did some of the businesses in the area. A fire was set to a large storage container which was to the rear of one of the business complexes."
What we know:
The incident happened in the area of 67th Avenue and Camelback.
In earlier statements, Glendale Police officials said they were aware of a protest in the area, and said they are monitoring the situation along with Phoenix Police.
"People have the right to peacefully protest," a Glendale Police official wrote.
By 7 p.m., the crowd grew to about 1,000 people.
At 10:15 p.m., officers deployed chemical agents to disperse the crowd. By 10:35 p.m, the area was cleared.
What we don't know:
Glendale Police said the suspect is unknown.
What they're saying:
Five patrol cars were damaged during the protest, and several officers were victims of aggravated assault, police said.
"Many of the uninvolved people in the area, such as employees to neighboring businesses, had to shelter in place," police said. "Many of their vehicles suffered extensive damage as did some of the businesses in the area. A fire was set to a large storage container which was to the rear of one of the business complexes."
Glendale Police Sgt. Bryan Hoskin says the protest turned pretty chaotic.
"There were times when individuals were throwing chunks of concrete that they found in the area at officers. Explosive devices like fireworks were going off near some of the officers' heads. One officer, one blew up near her leg and gave her little welts," he said.
He remarked on the cruiser being stolen.
"They took off, driving down the road with the lights on and everything," Sgt. Bryan Hoskin explained.
Businesses in the area experienced damage as well as cars parked in nearby lots. The manager of a 7-Eleven said his employee had to lock the doors and shelter in place.
What's Being Done:
By Monday, not one person had been arrested.
"At the time the people were committing these crimes, there was no time to move in safely so officers aren't getting hurt. We weren't going to send in one or two officers to chase people into crowds," Sgt. Hoskin said. "It's just not safe to do that."
Instead, Glendale PD says it's reviewing surveillance video, video taken from the chopper, and social media.
Found on Mainstream Media