PoliceActivity

Man Crashes Into Police Cruisers While Trying to Flee From Officers

Added 2022-11-10 23:25:28 +0000 UTC

Waterbury, Connecticut – On November 8, 2022, while proactively patrolling Knollwood Circle Tuesday night due to recent weapons, narcotics and additional quality-of-life-related complaints in the area, Waterbury police found a loaded gun in a man's vehicle. The man, identified as 20-year-old Willie Rodriguez, had an active court protective order against him, prohibiting him from lawfully possessing firearms. He also did not have a valid state pistol permit. When police tried stopping Rodriguez, he allegedly accelerated and reversed, hitting two police cruisers before coming to a stop. He was taken into custody shortly after. Investigators said they found a loaded automatic long rifle inside Rodriguez's car. Rodriguez faces charges including criminal mischief, criminal possession of a pistol or revolver, reckless driving, interfering with an officer's signal and more. He also had seven failure to appear warrants for missing court dates regarding a prior arrest, police said. Waterbury Police said Rodriguez has been arrested 19 times for 56 different charges and nine pending cases. He was held on a $686,000 bond and appeared in court Wednesday.