Officer fires gunshot at driver who attempted to run him over

Honolulu police are searching for a man who tried to run over a police officer who fired a gunshot Thursday as the suspect drove off in a stolen car.

Police describe the man as bald, wearing sunglasses and an orange long-sleeved shirt. The car is a 1990 gold four-door Toyota sedan, license plate number FVT 822.

The Toyota was stolen Wednesday from the Pearl City-Aiea area.

A sergeant patrolling the Red Hill area saw a man leaning into a vehicle and stopped to question him at 11:15 a.m. at Ala Kapuna Street and Moanalualani Place near the First Assembly of God church.

The same man may have been breaking into other vehicles in a nearby neighborhood, and the sergeant was aware of those break-ins, said Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Teresa Bell.

When the sergeant approached, the man jumped into the vehicle and drove toward him, Bell said. The officer jumped out of the way and fired one shot at the man, she said.

Police do not know whether the man was struck by the gunshot, Bell said.

The officer injured his hip after moving out of the way of the vehicle.