[A] 33-year-old Burlington man is facing a slew of charges after police said he injured five officers Friday morning while trying to flee his arrest stemming from an online child luring sting in South Burlington.
Michael Sumner is set to appear Monday in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington to face charges of child luring and multiple counts of aggravated assault on an officer, according to police.
The injured officers included four members of the South Burlington Police Department and a detective working for the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. They were all taken by ambulance to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington for treatment following the incident.
South Burlington Police Shawn Burke said all the injured officers were released later Friday.
“They had minor scrapes and bruises,” the police chief said of the injured officers.
Sumner also had minor injuries. He was also taken to the medical center for an evaluation and released to police, according to the police chief. He is being held in custody over the weekend awaiting his arraignment in court on Monday.
In addition to the injuries, two South Burlington cruisers and an attorney general’s office vehicle sustained “heavy” damage, while another South Burlington police car also had minor damage.
The investigation into the child luring charge against Sumner started earlier this month, according to police. That’s when Sumner met an individual he believed was a girl under the age of 16 online, and later made arrangements to meet her in South Burlington for sex, police said.
However, according to police, the person posing as the minor was really a South Burlington police officer acting undercover as part of her role with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
When Sumner arrived at the pre-arranged meeting spot Friday morning in a parking lot at the intersection of Dorset Street and Aspen Drive in South Burlington in a silver sport-utility vehicle, police said, several officers approached him to make the arrest.
Sumner drove out of his parking spot, ramming into police vehicles as he tried to get away, narrowly missing officers who were outside of their cars trying to arrest him, according to police.
He then drove through the parking lot toward the exit when he struck another responding South Burlington cruiser head-on, police said.
“The Officers were able to exit their damaged vehicles and take Sumner into custody after a brief physical struggle,” according to police.
Burke said Friday afternoon his department is continuing its investigation into the incident.
“It will be an opportunity to look at what was brought to bear in the operation, what was effective, what wasn’t effective, and what could be more effective going forward,” the police chief said.
The Attorney General’s Office referred questions about the incident to the South Burlington Police Department, stating that additional information about the case, including the affidavit of probable cause for the charges against Sumner, will be made public following his arraignment Monday.
