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San Jose police officer seriously hurt chasing carjacking suspect By Sean Webby Posted: 01/03/2012 10:13:04 PM PST Click photo to enlarge This is the scene on the north side of Alum Rock Ave. at McCreery 27-year-old San Jose man who was on the run from a minor jail sentence is in far more serious trouble Tuesday after he carjacked an elderly man, police said, and led officers on a chaotic chase, during which he rammed the stolen SUV into four patrol cars, sending one officer to the hospital. About half an hour later, officers brought the broad-daylight chase to a crunching end at the busy intersection of Alum Rock and McCreery avenues when they used their cars to pin the stolen GMC between them. Then they used a Taser and restraining wrap to bring the struggling suspect into submission. Last month, the suspect, identified as Alejandro Gonzalez, failed to show up to serve a weekend jail sentence and has had a warrant for his arrest since Dec. 29, according to court records. Sgt. Jason Dwyer said the injured veteran officer -- who was not identified Tuesday -- is expected to live, and was taken to a trauma unit about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. Several other officers were bruised and shaken, but none so far has been hospitalized, he said. "There was a lot of opportunity for the suspect to injure or kill innocent people today," Dwyer said, before commending his department on ending a potentially deadly situation with a minimal use of force and injury. "Our officers did a tremendous job with incredible skill." It has been less than two weeks since the last high-profile carjacking chase. Late last month, a Milpitas carjacking suspect crashed a vehicle while trying to elude police, carjacked another vehicle and then almost ran over a bunch of officers before escaping. Police are seeking Jarek Brown, 31, of San Jose, in that incident and they say he should be considered armed and dangerous. Tuesday's dramatic police chase began at 11:23 a.m. Gonzalez approached a 68-year-old man at a gas station at McKee and King roads and demanded his GMC sport utility vehicle, police said. The men faced off and fought. The suspect punched the victim in the nose, breaking it, and sped off in the SUV, police said. An officer who happened to be at that gas station witnessed the fight and called for backup. The suspect, police say, then rammed the stolen SUV into the back of a moving patrol car on McKee Road at the entrance of Interstate 680, just after noon. That officer was trapped inside his patrol car and called for help. San Jose fire crews rushed to the scene to extricate the officer and take him to a trauma hospital. The suspect didn't stop, police said. Police say he drove south on Capitol Avenue, ramming the stolen vehicle into two more patrol cars stationed in the Gramercy neighborhood. At Alexander and Alum Rock avenues, police say the suspect struck a fourth patrol car driven by an officer who had intervened when he spotted the suspect about to strike a family walking across the street, Dwyer said. Minutes later, Dwyer said, three officers maneuvered their vehicles to box in the suspect's vehicle at the crowded intersection of Alum Rock and McCreery avenues. The pileup blocked the middle of the road until about 2:30 p.m. Dwyer said an officer jumped on the hood of his police car and fired a Taser at the suspect while another officer smashed in the window on the passenger side of the vehicle. Gonzalez still wouldn't surrender, police said, so they wrestled him, putting him in a restraint device. Court records indicate Gonzalez has two previous felony convictions for having stolen property. His latest 19-day sentence after pleading guilty to petty theft was scheduled to be served in weekend increments.