Authorities charged a man who drove at St. Paul police early Tuesday morning, causing one officer to bounce off his hood and another to shoot at the driver as he sped away.
Salvador Torres Garza, 19, was charged via warrant with one count of first-degree assault involving use of deadly force against a peace officer, according to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court on Wednesday.
Police do not believe Torres Garza was struck by the gunfire. The officer he struck sustained minor injuries.
The warrant is one of several out for Torres Garza, as police have been looking for the St. Paul man since they say he burglarized the Minnesota Transportation Museum and the Minuteman Auto Sales dealership on June 9.
Torres Garza stole keys from Minuteman at that time, and used them to take multiple vehicles from the dealership, some of which Torres Garza used to ram into garages in order to steal property, the complaint said.
He was subsequently charged with “several thefts and multiple burglaries” but failed to appear in court on them, charges say.
Since then, several other “auto-related” businesses have had vehicles stolen from them. Torres Garza is a suspect in all of them, according to authorities.
Police were looking for Torres Garza when two officers spotted a Dodge Journey, which they knew to be stolen, parked in an alley north of the state Capitol and Regions Hospital around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
As they approached, they recognized Torres Garza in the driver’s seat, and one of the officers directed him to get out of the vehicle, authorities say.
Instead, Torres Garza started driving “rapidly” toward the officer, the complaint said. The officer “bounced off” Torres Garza’s hood upon impact, causing his partner to fire “multiple rounds” toward Torres Garza’s vehicle as he sped away, charges say.
Police found the stolen vehicle abandoned a short time later. As there was no blood inside, police do not believe Torres Garza was shot, the complaint said.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the officer-involved gunfire and both officers were placed on paid administrative leave, as is standard in such cases. They wore body cameras at the time of the incident.
More than 10 other criminal charges have been filed against Torres Garza since June, court records say. All the cases are pending.
Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report.