A Swansea man was charged with multiple offenses after allegedly driving away from a police officer, fleeing from Bristol into Warren, hitting another vehicle along the way, passing cars along one-lane Hope Street, and later attacking and threatening a Bristol police sergeant.

Patrolman Joshua Roza was called to investigate a reckless pickup truck, heading north on Hope Street, shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday night, Dec. 30. According to Officer Roza’s report, he quickly found the vehicle pulled over to the side of the road near Old Orchard Farm Road. He said he approached the driver, who told the officer he was having difficulty with his four-wheel drive in the slushy snow.

The officer went back to his cruiser to check on the license of John Medeiros, 52, of Swansea. According to his report, when he got out of the cruiser to return to the suspect vehicle, the operator took off at a high rate of speed.

Officer Roza ran back to his cruiser and began to pursue. Moments later, he observed a silver Chevy pulled to the side of the road with its hazard lights flashing. The officer stopped and confirmed that the car had been hit by a passing motorist. The driver said he was not injured, and Officer Roza called for assistance and returned to the pursuit of Mr. Medeiros.

He found Mr. Medeiros’ truck, still traveling north on Hope Street in the area of Terrace Drive. Officer Roza said the suspect began traveling faster and passing cars in the 25-mile-per-hour zone. The driver finally stopped in downtown Warren, and Officer Roza was joined by a Warren patrolman. According to the report, they asked Mr. Medeiros to exit the vehicle several times, but he refused, so they removed him and cuffed him. They also allegedly seized an open bottle of Southern Comfort on the passenger side floor.

Officer Roza reported that Mr. Medeiros smelled like alcohol and was verbally abusive to officers. He refused to take a breathalyzer test, and he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. The victim of the hit-and-run accident arrived at the scene and confirmed that Mr. Medeiros’ vehicle had struck him, and the officers confirmed that Mr. Medeiros’ truck had front-end damage. Mr. Medeiros was taken back to the Bristol police station.

According to the report, Mr. Medeiros requested to go to a hospital. As officers were directing him onto a stretcher, he allegedly became combative with Sgt. Paul Medeiros. He allegedly pushed the sergeant with both hands, grabbed his uniform and verbally threatened him multiple times, saying at one point, “I’m going to give you a [expletive] beating, wait until I see you again.”

Once at Newport Hospital, Mr. Medeiros allegedly screamed at staff members, and extra security was brought to the scene. The suspect was later brought back to the Bristol station, held for several hours and arraigned on six criminal charges, as well as numerous traffic violations.

He was charged with DUI, refusal to submit to a chemical test, reckless driving/eluding officers, simple assault, making threats to public officials, and failing to stop/accident resulting. He was released to his wife at 2:09 a.m.