A Rossville police officer is taken to the hospital after a man gets away in his own police car, striking him during the getaway.

Officer Elijah Hunter is in fair condition at Erlanger Medical Center as of Wednesday afternoon while his brothers-in-blue are trying to find his attacker.

Hunter was on patrol at 1:00 a.m. Wednesday when he saw a man walking down a road carrying something. Hunter felt things just didn't seem right about the man and his instinct turned out to be right.

"He may have burglarized a church, a local church," according to Rossville Public Safety Director Sid Adams.

Something just didn't look right about a man walking down West Gordon Avenue in Rossville in the middle of the night so officer Elijah Hunter stopped his patrol car and tried to speak with him.

"Suspect fled, the officer gave chase and initiated a foot pursuit at which time the suspect was able to get into one of the cars, the patrol vehicles," Adams said.

The suspect found the black-and-white Ford Crown Victoria running with the keys inside that's assigned to officer Hunter.

Adams said "my understanding is the vehicle struck him as he was attempting to reach in and stop the driver who sped away."

During the getaway the suspect drove the police car onto some railroad tracks causing three tires to blow. He didn't get very far, just a couple blocks away on 50th Street in Chattanooga.

That's when the suspect bailed out of Hunter's car and took off running. By that time officers answering Hunter's help call from Walker County and Chattanooga combed the area but found no trace of the suspect.

Adams said Hunter is recovering from bumps, bruises and cuts.

"He was somewhat frustrated," Adams explained. "I mean he's a good officer, a hard working and an aggressive officer and I think it's more frustrating to him than it is anything else that they didn't apprehend the guy."

With help from Walker County detectives Adams found out the suspect broke into a nearby Methodist church and stole a lap top computer that he left on the ground when officers started chasing him.

If you anything about the burglary or suspect, call Rossville Police.