Dashcam Video Shows Boston Police Cruiser Hitting Suspected Moped Thief

BOSTON (CBS)- Caught on camera: the moment Paul English saw a Boston Police cruiser appear to hit a suspect on a scooter. That person, fleeing on foot, is suspected of stealing the scooter he was riding.

Dashcam video recorded Sunday morning in the Seaport shows the officer's SUV appearing to brake before lurching forward and striking the scooter and the suspect, who runs off and was not caught.

This is the first time Paul has used the dash cam on his car. In fact, he recently had it installed just for fun. Now, he's grateful for it, especially if it helps with the investigation.

We showed the video to WBZ Security Analyst Ed Davis who says using a cruiser to stop a suspect is never protocol.

"You can't rush to judgement on it, despite how this looks, it clearly doesn't look good." Davis said.

The Boston Police Department says it's conducting an internal investigation.

The question, Davis says, is intent: was this an accident or did the officer hit the gas on purpose?

"Did something happen as he was putting the brakes on, did the car lurch forward when he was trying to stop?" Davis said.

Paul English is glad there's an investigation because what he saw, he says was a shock.

"I mean he stole a scooter, and that's bad. But he looked like he could've been killed by this SUV." English said.

The department isn't sharing details about how the suspect got hit by the cruiser but says it is investigating the officer's actions.