The man that the Chesterton Police Department said crashed his car downtown on Monday morning, is facing both felony and misdemeanor charges, the CPD is reporting.

According to the Town of Chesterton, the CPD is asking the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to file the following against the 51-year-old Porter man:

*Child endangerment, a Level 6 felony punishable by a term of six to 30 months.

*Possession of cocaine, also a Level 6 felony.

*Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor.

*Reckless driving, Class A misdemeanor.

*Operating a vehicle without ever receiving a driver’s license, a Class C misdemeanor.

 

The Town of Chesterton posted the following information to their Facebook page on Wednesday:

According to the CPD, shortly before 11 a.m. Monday officers were dispatched to the intersection of South Calumet Road and Broadway to investigate a head-on accident involving three vehicles. As she was slowing to a stop at the scene, Sgt. Jamie Copollo observed a male subject approach her squad, begin “banging his hands” on its driver’s side, then “jump into the back seat while Sgt. Copollo was still in the driver’s seat.” Speaking “very fast,” the subject “said something about a ‘shootout’ and ‘let’s go,’” the CPD said.

Believing that the subject was “going to attack” Copollo, Porter Police Sgt. Kevin Rospierski drew his Taser and instructed the man to exit the vehicle, which he did, the CPD said. Copollo then attempted to handcuff him.

“The male was very anxious and appeared to be in a paranoid state,” the CPD said. “The man continually looked around, into the crowd of 30 or more bystanders that had gathered on the sidewalks. Officers were starting to get (the subject) calmed down. However, when (the subject) would look into the crowd he would become more anxious and begin to pace in a small circle and mumble things that were not understandable. This also caused (the subject) to tense up and attempt to pull away from Sgt. Copollo. The male was sweating profusely and had a high pulse rate.”

Officers finally made the decision “to place the male on the ground in order to restrain him,” the CPD said. “The male was gently placed on the ground and continued to tense up and resist officers placing him in handcuffs. Officers were eventually able to place him in handcuffs.”

The subject was then placed in an ambulance “to remove him from the crowd and keep him calm,” the CPD said.

On making contact with the subject’s wife, who was out of town for work, officers learned that the subject is prone to “episodes” and that when he does have an episode “he gets arrested on purpose because he feels ‘safe around the police,’” the CPD said. The subject was subsequently transported to Northwest-Health Porter for observation.

Found at the scene and on the subject’s person at Northwest-Health:

*A witness who estimated the subject speed at 60 to 80 miles per hour in a zone posted at 20 mph.

*A 2-year-old child in a car seat. “However, the car seat was secured to the back seat with zip ties only and not a seatbelt,” the CPD said.

*A plastic baggy in his left sock containing “a white ‘rock’ and a white powdery substance” which tested positive for cocaine, the CPD said.

The 2-year-old was placed in the custody of the subject’s daughter. Meanwhile, an officer injured his knee while placing the subject on the ground and was treated at hospital, the CPD said.