NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A man has been arrested for shooting at a North Miami Beach Police officer as he sat in his cruiser, officials say.
The shooting occurred before 2 a.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of The Kabbalah Centre, located at the 2700 block of 163rd Street.
“Shots fired at a police vehicle on Northeast 163rd Street,” a dispatcher said.
Footage from the scene showed a police cruiser being towed away, with visible damage to the front passenger tire.
According to police, 36-year-old Evan Polinski shot out the front tire of the cruiser and fled the scene at a high rate of speed.
“They advise he shot at the tire of a police vehicle,” said the dispatcher. “Left going in the northbound direction, a white Chevy.”
Newly released video shows the Polinski, dressed in black and holding a gun, walking over to the police cruiser ad shooting the front tire.
Polinksi begins running when the officer inside the shot vehicle confronts him.
The speeding driver crashed into another car a few miles away along 167th Street near Jackson North, according to officials.
The officer in the shooting was not injured. One person from the crash scene was transported to the hospital, along with Polinski. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Some who arrived to pray at The Kabbalah Centre spoke out upon hearing about what happened in the parking lot.
“Who wakes up and puts their life every day in potential danger and risks their life?” said Mike Weiss who attended the place of worship. “[Police officers] don’t get the respect anymore that they should or they did in the past. It’s just — it’s one of the most disheartening things about this country right now.”
“I mean that’s terrible. Not only with what’s going on here but what’s going on around the world, it’s tough to stomach,” said Weiss.
Weiss said the Kabbalah Centre is a place that focuses on peace. He hopes that peace can come to the suspect who tried to hurt the officer.
“The only thing we can do is combat evil with love. So, we just got to send energy, that’s all we can do,” said Weiss.
Officials said this was not an attack on the Jewish community but rather, an attack on law enforcement.
According to North Miami Beach Police, Polinski had a prior misdemeanor DUI charge with them from 2017.
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