State Police K-9, trooper injured in NJ Turnpike confrontation

CHERRY HILL — A man stabbed a State Police K-9 and hit a trooper on the head with a flashlight during an incident  that caused huge backups on the NJ Turnpike on Monday.

The incident started with a wellness check on a shirtless man holding a knife on Route 295 around 2:13 p.m. When troopers arrived the man got in his car and drove away, exiting at Route 73 and refusing to stop.

The man then headed north on the Turnpike.

Troopers followed the man until his vehicle became disabled. Troopers ordered him out of his vehicle but he refused. A State Police K-9 named Creed was placed in the car to help troopers arrest the man, who stabbed the dog with a knife, troopers said.

As the injured K-9 was removed from the vehicle, the suspect got out. As officers placed him under arrest, he hit a trooper in the head with a flashlight, officials said.

State Police on Tuesday did not explain why they had neither publicly identified the suspect nor listed the charges against him.

The trooper was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Creed remained in stable condition on Tuesday, according to State Police.

The closure of the northbound lanes caused a delay of at least five miles and pushed extra traffic onto nearby Route 295. A rubbernecking delay also developed on the Turnpike

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ