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Boy Rammed Clearwater Squad Car, Fled, Police Say

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2008

CLEARWATER -- A 14-year-old Clearwater boy was arrested early today after he struck a police cruiser with a 1991 Honda Accord, narrowly missing one police officer and then gunning the Accord toward a second officer, authorities said.

Keith M. Holland of 1710 Harbor Drive was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing and eluding, possession of marijuana, resisting arrest without violence and not having a valid driver's license.

At 3:16 a.m. today at 1001 N. Martin Luther King Ave., Holland was found sleeping in the driver's seat of a car with its engine running, said Elizabeth Daly-Watts, Clearwater's public safety spokeswoman.

Patrol officers awakened him, she said. Holland put the car in reverse, slammed a squad car and narrowly missed an officer, Daly-Watts said. Holland then drove toward a corporal, narrowing missing him, too, and sped off, she said.

Officers chased Holland because he had committed aggravated assault on two law enforcement officers, Daly-Watts said. The brief chase ended at Fairburn Avenue and Engman Street, where Holland lost control of the Accord and struck a telephone pole, she said.

He bolted but was arrested shortly afterward, Daly-Watts said. The Accord was seized, as were 2 grams of marijuana, she said.

Holland was treated for minor injuries at Bayfront Medical Center and transported to Pinellas County Juvenile Detention Center.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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