HOLMES COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) — A police chase Friday afternoon ended with two Bonifay police officers in the hospital, according to the department.
It all started when an off-duty officer received a tip on a possible drug exchange.
The off-duty officer reached out to an on-duty officer, and they began their search.
Investigators said they saw the suspect switch vehicles and then run a stop sign.
When the officers tried to stop the suspect, they said he took off.
They ended up on a gravel road with low visibility.
“They lost control of the car, and it rolled,” said Chris Wells, Bonifay police chief. “The suspect continued traveling for approximately a mile and a half, and he lost control on the road as well, and he went off into the creek.”
One of the officers that was hospitalized had to be airlifted for treatment, according to police.
K9 tracking teams from the Holmes and Walton County Sheriff Offices searched for the suspect until midnight.
They didn’t find him until the next morning.
Thomas Bernard Peterson is held without bond in the Walton County jail.
Wells said his two police officers were treated and released from the hospital that night, but are still under doctor’s observation.
