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Rameesh Dula, 34, first grabbed one of the youngsters after responding officers found both him and the woman bleeding, Detective Capt. Timothy Torell said.
The woman told police that Dula had stolen her car moments earlier, crashed it and then returned to her home, Torell said.
Police tried to take Dula into custody, but he “grabbed one of his children and used the child as a shield against the approaching officer,” the captain said.
“Dula kept reaching towards his pockets despite being ordered not to do so,” Torell said. “He then dropped the child as other family members intervened, but then grabbed the second and even younger child and charged at the lone officer.
“Fearing for the baby's safety, the officer stopped his advance,” the captain said. “A short standoff ensued until Dula attempted to leave the scene with the baby he was holding.”
The officer grabbed Dula, who released the child, Torell said.
He then assaulted the officer before shoving both hands into his pockets, he said.
A backup officer arrived and Dula was tased, handcuffed and arrested, the captain said.
“The officers were able to use great restraint during this challenging situation and safeguard everyone there,” Torell said.
"Englewood’s finest remain fit and sharp and thankfully well trained to diffuse these circumstances,” Mayor Michael Wildes said. "Regular police training remains critical."
Moments earlier, police rescued a 51-year-old pizza deliveryman from a smoking truck, which was leaking gasoline, after Dula hit it with the ex-girlfriend’s car at the intersection of West Englewood Avenue and William Street, the captain said.
Dula was speeding east on West Englewood Avenue in the stolen vehicle when it rear-ended the truck, flipping it, Torell said.
The driver “sustained multiple serious but non-life threatening injuries to his entire body and was transported to a local hospital for treatment,” he said.
Dula, meanwhile, left his girlfriend’s severely damaged car behind and got a ride back to her Washington Place home, where the standoff with police followed, the captain said.
Both Dula and the ex-girlfriend were briefly hospitalized with minor injuries. The children weren’t injured.
Dula, currently of Newark, remained held Friday in the Bergen County Jail.
He's charged with two counts of child endangerment, aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a serious crash, driving with a revoked license and domestic violence, among other counts.
Dula has an extensive criminal history, including a 2014 police chase that included him jumping from a moving car following a theft from an Englewood house.
SEE: Two Englewood Thieves In Custody After Chase That Ends In Paramus Crash, Police Say
Dula later ran into trouble again while being sentenced for the crime when he threatened his defense attorney.
SEE: Englewood Ex-Con Threatens Lawyer
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ALSO SEE: An ex-con with a history of fighting with police lunged for an Englewood officer’s gun in court and had to be tased, handcuffed and dragged out, authorities said.
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