TWO cops were injured yesterday after a man accused of illegally operating a route taxi, allegedly rammed their service vehicle that was used to block his path during a wild, high-speed chase along busy Whitehall Avenue in St Andrew.

Yesterday, the Constant Spring Police launched a manhunt for the driver of the illegal cab, whom they alleged was taken away by residents who had converged at the scene. The injured cops, they said, were treated at hospital.

Persons who claimed to have witnessed the high-speed car chase, said the taxi driver was shot, but police were unable to confirm this.

According to head of crime for the St Andrew North Police division, Acting Deputy Superintendent Altermoth ‘Parra’ Campbell, the taxi driver sped away when officers in a patrol car ordered him to stop.

“That same taxi driver almost wrecked a police car yesterday (Tuesday). He was spotted this morning and sped away when officers ordered him to stop. He drove from Mannings Hill Road, down Whitehall Avenue and into Peanut Lane when he began driving in circles,” Campbell told the Observer.

The police, he said, radioed for back-up and a patrol car was positioned at the intersection of Peanut Lane and Whitehall Avenue to stop the speeding motorist. But the police said instead of stopping, the driver rammed the service vehicle at full speed, injuring two cops who were inside.

“One of the officers collapsed as he tried to leave the vehicle. This may have aided in the man’s escape as at that point we had to tend to our injured colleagues,” Campbell said.

But yesterday, some residents of Peanut Lane and Whitehall Avenue chided the cops for what they described as the careless way in which they carried out the chase. The cops, they claimed, fired shots wildly at the cab, even though it was loaded with passengers.

“There were several people in the vehicle, in fact, I saw a male passenger trying to jump from the vehicle while the police was chasing it,” said an alleged eyewitness.

Other residents thanked God that “innocent bystanders” were not injured during the wild chase.

“Them could never have any sense. The police dem just fire the shot them although them know say the man have passenger in the car. Them coulda kill somebody and then you woulda hear say that person shoot after them,” one resident told the Observer.