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The incident took place around 3:20 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 13, while a New Canaan officer was working a security assignment at the store located at 51 Elm St., said New Canaan Lt. Jason Ferraro.
The store had hired off-duty security as a result of several recent larcenies that involved two black men and a black woman who would pull up in front of the store in a no-parking zone, Ferraro said.
One of the men would stay in the vehicle and the other man and the woman would walk into the store, taking multiple items and then quickly exit and jump into the waiting vehicle and speed away.
On Sunday, when the off-duty officer saw a gray Acura sedan with a stolen Connecticut tag AR-37641 park in front of the store in the no parking zone and a black man and woman exit the vehicle with the third man remaining in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, he immediately was ready to confront the two.
According to Ferraro, the woman approached the front of the store, saw the officer and immediately returned to the waiting vehicle. The man entered the store and the officer made contact with the man who then abruptly left the store and got into the waiting vehicle.
The vehicle then took off at a high rate of speed heading west on Elm Street towards Park Street.
Responding officers headed for the area of Cherry Street and Park Street in an attempt to make contact with the vehicle. An officer was traveling westbound on Cherry Street approaching the intersection of Park Street when he saw the Acura turn onto Cherry Street from Park Street at a high rate of speed, Ferraro said.
As the Acura began traveling on Cherry Street it drove straight at the police vehicle at a high rate of speed, the officer attempted to turn away but was not able to avoid being struck by the vehicle, he added.
After the Acura struck the police car it drove onto the sidewalk in front of St. Aloysius and struck a sign and drove onto the grass in front of the church and continued driving at a high rate of speed on Cherry Street.
A short time later a resident on Hillside Avenue reported that the Acura was parked in their driveway with heavy damage and that it was still running, the vehicle was unoccupied and the suspects were observed running towards Forest Street.
Area department K-9s arrived to search for the suspects but contact was not successful.
The investigation into the incidents at Ralph Lauren is active and anyone with information is encouraged to contact Sgt. Scott Romano of the Investigative Section at 203-594-3523.
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