A western Iowa police officer suffered head injuries Sunday night while chasing a suspect. Avoca Police Officer Chad Dennler responded to a call about a suspicious person at the A-H-S-T Elementary School in Avoca at about 7:30 last night. A foot pursuit with the suspect began, with the pursuit going into the backyard of a nearby home. At some point during the chase, Officer Dennler suffered a “blunt force trauma” to the head. He was taken to the Harlan hospital in critical condition, but Dennler had regained consciousness and was responding to questions at the hospital last night. Officers from several agencies, including a helicopter from the Omaha Police Department, responded to help search for the suspect, but the suspect was not found.
