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SPPD asks for help identifying man accused of chasing teenager, punching officer

Police are urging anyone with information about the incident to call 651-266-5650.

ST PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul police are asking for the public's help identifying a man accused of harassing a teenage girl and assaulting an officer.

In a Facebook post Thursday, the St. Paul Police Department said it responded to a call around 1 p.m. on the 900 block of Arcade Street about a man harassing and chasing a 14-year-old girl. 

Officers arrived to the scene and quickly located the suspect, who then fled on foot. After a brief chase, someone pulled up to the suspect in a white pickup truck and told him to get into the back.

A video of the incident shows the suspect riding along, grabbing a pursuing officer's arm and then punching him in the face. According to the post, the officer finally freed his arm and went tumbling to the ground with minor bruises and scrapes.

Both the suspect and the driver were able to get away.

"Officer Morgan is tough, so he's going to be OK," St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said in the post. "But this could have ended tragically; we got lucky. It just goes to show you how quickly a seemingly ordinary call for service can take a strange and dangerous turn."

Police are urging anyone with information to call 651-266-5650.

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