Video shows driver fleeing after hitting Woodbury officer

A Woodbury police officer was injured after she was struck and knocked into a snowbank early Thursday by a driver who appeared to be impaired.

The driver, identified as Thomas Shows, 42, fled the scene but was arrested several hours later after leading authorities on a pursuit from the east metro suburb through St. Paul and into Minneapolis, the Woodbury Police Department said.

Shows was taken into custody without further incident and booked into the Washington County Jail. He was charged with felony assault and fleeing police. Charges of possessing a controlled substance and driving a stolen vehicle were also pending, court records show.

Woodbury police released dashcam video showing that at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, the officer was checking on a driver found slumped over behind the wheel of a pickup with the engine running in the parking lot of the Extended Stay on Hudson Road.

Officers approached the vehicle and woke the driver, "who appeared groggy, had glassy eyes, slurred speech, and had some difficulty answering officers' questions," the charging document said.

Shows showed the officer an identification card that did not match his description. As the officer continued to question him, Shows used the steering wheel to turn the front tires to face the officer. The officer instructed him to turn off the truck and placed her hands on the door to open it, the charges said.

That is when Shows put his truck in reverse and hit the officer, who fell into a snowbank. He then rapidly accelerated forward, nearly running over the officer and striking a Woodbury squad as he fled the scene, the dashcam video showed.

Woodbury police spotted Shows again about 10 a.m. and attempted a traffic stop. He failed to stop, and instead drove into St. Paul and continued to Minneapolis. Law enforcement from the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, the State Patrol and the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments joined the pursuit, police said.

"Resident bystanders also assisted by pointing out the suspect's direction of travel, which aided in the apprehension," Woodbury police said in a statement.

The officer had soreness and pain in her right hand, wrist and knee, but did not have to go to the hospital, the charges said.

Shows has three outstanding warrants in Anoka County, including first degree possession of a controlled substance, court records show.

Shows is scheduled to make his first court appearance on April 6. The hearing will be held remotely, according to court documents.