AMES, Iowa -A New Ulm man is in jail in Iowa, after an incident in which he allegedly drove his car at two Ames, Iowa police officers, who then fired and wounded him.
Julian Anthony Kral, 40, of New Ulm, is facing charges of assaulting a police officer, disarming a police officer, eluding a police officer and interference with official acts.
According to Ames Police Department Commander Mike Brennan, Kral was pulled over early Tuesday morning for erratic driving.
Brennan said an officer saw Kral pull out from a side street onto Duff Avenue. Kral turned very wide and was headed down the wrong lane in a four-lane roadway. The officer did a U-turn and began to follow Kral, said Brennan. When the officer turned on his lights, Kral sped up, passing another officer who was responding to the fall.
The officers followed Kral at high speed for about 12 blocks, when Kral slammed on his brakes and the two police cars went past him. The officers got out and ordered Kral out of his car.
Kral did get out, was waving his arms around and yelling something unintelligible, said Brennan. Kral then got back into his car, revved the engine and popped the clutch, lurching forward toward the officers. Brennan said Kral was revving his engine again when the officers opened fire, striking Kral in the left side, near the abdomen.
The officers, Patrick O'Bruan and Joshua Vander Zwaag have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard department policy when an officer is involved in a shooting.
Even after he was shot, Kral resisted officers, refusing to get out of the car and was combative to the point they had to use their Tazers to get him to comply.
Brennan said other officers who arrived on the scene had to help subdue Kral, who continued to fight even as the paramedics arrived.
Kral was airlifted to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. He was released Wednesday. He is being held in the Story County Jail in Nevada, Iowa, on $22,500 cash bond.
The incident is under investigation by the Ames Police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said Brennan.
