Palo Alto police arrested a woman suspected of felony shoplifting on Tuesday, April 18, after she allegedly disregarded commands during a car stop and backed her vehicle into a patrol car and fled.

The incident began at about 10:51 a.m. when an officer spotted a black 2007 Honda CR-V driving in the 2800 block of Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park. The car was being driven by a person who allegedly shoplifted from the Macy's at Stanford Shopping Center at 180 El Camino Real, according to a police press release.

The officer made a car stop in a business parking lot nearby and the driver stepped out of the car. After a short conversation with the officer, she walked away and returned to the driver's seat. She allegedly ignored multiple commands to stop, reversed her car and struck the front passenger's side corner of the patrol vehicle as the officer stood beside it. She drove forward over a curb, onto a grassy lawn and sped off at high speeds, police said.

The officer found the Honda again in a parking lot in the 2900 block of Sand Hill Road, where it sped past the patrol car in the opposite direction. As the officer lost sight of the vehicle again and made a U-turn to catch up, he saw the car in the distance. The car struck a curb in the 2800 block of Sand Hill Road at about 50 miles per hour, rolled over once and came to rest on its wheels in an embankment.

The woman got out of the car and stood next to it for about a minute as the officer gave her arrest commands, which she ignored. She re-entered the vehicle briefly and then fled on foot. The officer chased and tackled her in the grass after a short foot pursuit.

The woman resisted arrest by continuing to pull her hands away and attempting to stand up, despite repeated commands to stay on the ground and to give her hands to the officer for handcuffing. Eventually, a male passerby in his 30s assisted the officer. Other officers arrived as backup and police took her into custody without further incident.

The original officer suffered a moderate injury to his arm and was treated and released at a hospital. Paramedics transported the woman to a hospital as a precaution due to the rollover collision and complaints she made of pain to her neck, back and hand.

Police found nine pairs of stolen sunglasses inside her car with a total value of about $3,900. Officers returned the stolen merchandise to Macy’s.

Police booked the woman, 35-year-old San Francisco resident Francesca Marie Maufas, into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of four felonies: assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, reckless evading and grand theft. She was also booked for three outstanding warrants: a felony for grand theft in San Jose, a misdemeanor for shoplifting/providing false identification to police in Marin County and a misdemeanor for theft in Alameda County. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has charged her in the case and she will appear for arraignment today, April 21, according to the court's online portal.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the police department's 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to [email protected] or sent by text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.