Man charged with striking police officer with a vehicle

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·2 min read

Feb. 23—The Chenango County Sheriff's Department said Thursday that a Bainbridge man was arrested and charged with striking a police officer with a vehicle on Feb. 20 in the town of Norwich.

Sheriff Ernest Cutting Jr. said in a media release that the arrest was the result of "a multi-agency investigation."

According to the release, sheriff's deputies, state police and city of Norwich police began the investigation after it was reported that a city of Norwich police officer was struck by a motor vehicle while attempting to take a person with an active warrant into custody. Two male suspects fled the scene in the vehicle. "After numerous leads were generated," the release said, the driver was identified as Hayes Cutting Jr., 43, of Bainbridge, who was on parole from state prison. The passenger in the vehicle was identified as Jesse J. Dann, 28, of Norwich.

The release said Chenango County deputies and state police went to a location in the town of Oneonta on Wednesday, Feb. 22, after they received information of the possible whereabouts of one of the suspects. After a two-hour search, police found Hayes Cutting hiding in the ceiling of a building. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with the felonies of second-degree assault and tampering with physical evidence; and misdemeanor charges of third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer and resisting arrest.

Hayes Cutting was held at the Chenango County Correctional Facility on a state parole warrant and is scheduled to appear in the town of Norwich Court.

Sheriff Ernest Cutting said the effort "was a well orchestrated investigation with multi-agencies and multi-divisions within the agencies."

Police were still looking for Jesse J. Dann at the time of the media release Thursday morning. Anyone with information on Dann's whereabouts is asked to contact the Chenango County Sheriff's Office at 607-334-2000.