Suspect escapes after high speed chase, SWAT standoff

BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- Police are still searching for the man at the center of an undercover drug buy that eventually escalated into a high speed chase and a standoff.

“He’s at large at this time,” says Captain Phil Trent of the South Bend Police Department.

It started with an undercover drug sting at a liquor store off State Line Road.

Police say, undercover Berrien County Sheriff’s Detectives set up a drug buy with a local drug dealer.

But as the officer attempted to arrest the suspect, police say he threw his car into reverse and backed up into an officer, injuring him in the leg.

Then, he led the officers on a high speed chase across the state line from Berrien County into South Bend.  

Over five miles later, the chase ended at the Indian Springs apartment complex on Portage Road.

Police say an eyewitness saw the suspect go into an apartment at the complex, but when the SWAT made entry, the suspect wasn’t there.

Since the crime happened across two states, once the suspect is found, both departments will work together.

The Berrien County Sheriff's Department will work to finish up the investigation and send it to prosecutors to get warrants for the subject.

South Bend Police Department will work to secure the vehicle for Berrien County, and assist them in any way to help the investigation.

The injured detective has been released from the hospital.