OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS/SF CHRON) A 21-year-old man was arrested Saturday evening after violently shaking his toddler and then throwing the child in front of a moving car in Oakland.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that he was arrested by an off-duty Oakland police officer who witnessed the incident and hailed a citizen’s vehicle to help chase down the suspect.
The officer was off-duty and on foot when he saw a man yelling in the middle of 5th Avenue near East 15th Street around 5:40 Saturday night.
The officer, whose name has not been released, said the man then picked up a toddler on the sidewalk, shook the girl violently and then hurled her into traffic, where she was run over by a vehicle.
Authorities said it was later determined the toddler was the suspect’s child.
The off-duty officer helped remove the child from underneath the car. She suffered some burns from the engine, but escaped major injury.
Police said the suspect then fled on foot and that was when the officer flagged down a passing motorist and jumped into the passenger seat.
They spotted the suspect confronting another motorist at 5th Avenue and International Boulevard.
The officer confronted the suspect, who started attacking him.
The officer used his weapon to pistol-whip the suspect. Uniformed officers then arrived on the scene, but the suspect was still combative and they shot him with a Taser stun gun before he was subdued.
The suspect was taken to a hospital for treatment.
