LAKELAND - Police have identified the officer involved in a shooting after his patrol car was rammed early this morning.
Lakeland Police Department Officer Aaron Peterman was making a traffic stop at the Lakeland High School parking lot near U.S. 98 and Dreadnaught Drive just after midnight when the target vehicle, a truck, backed into his cruiser, doing extensive damage, police said.
The truck then sped away.
Peterman was getting out of his car at the time and fired several shots at the truck, several of which struck the driver's side door, police said. Peterman tried to give chase, but the damage to his car made it impossible to follow for long, police said.
Lakeland police found the truck abandoned in a parking lot at Florida Southern College and evacuated the Charles Jenkins Residence Hall for about an hour while they searched the area.
The driver has not been found.
Peterman, 32, a canine unit officer, has been with the Lakeland Police Department for seven years. His dog's name is Charief. Neither was injured, police said.
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