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Fresno Officer Injured In Hit and Run Incident

A Fresno Police officer was seriously injured in a hit and run incident while on his motorcycle Tuesday morning.

The incident began at Belmont and Weber, when a police officer noticed a driver of a BMW possibly picking up a prostitute. The officer attempted to chase the driver, but ultimately stopped for safety reasons.

A short time later at Cambridge and Crystal a motorcycle officer identified as Rudy Ruiz, spotted the BMW driver in the area; at that point the suspect struck Ruiz who fell to the ground. The suspect then abandoned his vehicle, and took off on foot towards Yale and Weber Avenue. It was this point when he entered the Stefanelli Distribution building, causing employees inside the building to call police claiming he had a knife.

Police arrived at the building to find the suspect on the second floor loft swinging a two and half foot pipe. One officer deployed his taser on the man, while four other officers fired at him. Police Chief Jerry Dyer says that overall 5-8 rounds were fired, but the suspect was not injured by the gunfire.

The suspect has been identified as 39-year-old Samuel Velasquez, who has three outstanding warrants against him; one for DUI, and two for driving with a suspended license. Velasquez is now facing felony hit and run charges, with more charges pending.

Ruiz was taken to Community Regional Medical Center where he is listed in stable condition. He is said to have received cuts on is face and a gash on his knee from the incident. According to Dyer, this is the third time the veteran officer has involved in a collision while on the job.

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