Two women under police surveillance on suspicion of fraud hit an officer with their car yesterday in a Columbia business complex when he approached their vehicle and flashed his badge, Howard County police said. The officer was not seriously injured.
Police provided few details about their investigation, but they said the women allegedly had filed fraudulent loan applications with the Household Finance Co. in the 10500 block of Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia's Town Center. Apparently, the women were returning to the area to pick up a check based on their loan request, police said.
Last night, the two women were in custody at police headquarters in Ellicott City. But police weren't sure who they are.
One woman gave officers fake names, and the other would not cooperate, police said. Detectives were planning to use fingerprints to identify the women, said Sgt. Steve Keller, a police spokesman.
"We don't know who we're dealing with yet," said Sergeant Keller. "We've got to find out who they are before we can charge them."
Meanwhile, Detective Patrick McDonald was treated at Howard County General Hospital, where he was examined for possible leg fractures and other injuries, and released.
Sergeant Keller said that Detective McDonald, a five-year veteran in the department's Fraud Unit, was back at work a few hours later.
According to police reports, Detective McDonald, two other Howard County officers and a U.S. postal inspector were watching the two suspects as they sat in a car in the lot of the Parkview Building in Town Center, police said.
Detective McDonald, the lead investigator, approached the vehicle and showed the women his badge and identification card at the car window, Sergeant Keller said.
The driver stepped on the accelerator and steered the car toward the officer, knocking him down, the sergeant said. Other officers in unmarked cars stopped the women's vehicle and arrested them, Sergeant Keller said.