A San Diego police cruiser
A San Diego police cruiser. Photo by Chris Stone

A 33-year-old suspect was jailed Thursday after he allegedly punched a man whose vehicle he had backed into, punched a police officer in the chest and was finally subdued with a stun gun.

The road range confrontation in University Heights happened shortly before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 1800 block of Howard Avenue near Park Boulevard, San Diego Police Officer Robert Heims said.

The suspect backed his vehicle into another man’s vehicle and the two drivers pulled over in a gas station parking lot to exchange information, Heims said.

When the two men got out of their vehicles at the gas station, the man punched the other driver, took the man’s cell phone and smashed it on the ground, 10News reported.

When officers arrived, the suspect punched an officer in the chest and fled on foot, Heims said.

Officers chased the man and used a Taser to subdue him a short distance away, Heims said.

The two officers involved in the confrontation were uninjured, Heims said.

The suspect, later identified as Jason Berard, was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of vandalism, damaging a wireless communication device, battery and two counts of resisting an officer, according to jail records.

He was being held in lieu of $68,000 bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.

— City News Service

Chris Jennewein is founder and senior editor of Times of San Diego.