Three Upper Darby officers were injured after a man shot at police and tried to resist arrest, authorities say

An Upper Darby police officer suffered a graze wound while being shot at by a suspect early Friday morning, and two other officers were injured while later attempting to arrest the man, according to police.

Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said the incident began shortly after 1 a.m. on the 100 block of Terrace Avenue, where officers had responded to a 911 call of a man stalking around a house. Almost immediately, Bernhardt said, the five officers were shot at in what he described as an “ambush.” The officers took cover, and one of them was grazed during the incident.

Bernhardt said it was unclear if the officer was grazed by a bullet or other debris, and he declined to say if officers returned fire, saying the case was still under investigation (initial reports that the officer had been shot “were determined to be false,” police said).

As police sought cover, Bernhardt said, the shooter ran away.

Other officers responded to the area and helped set up a perimeter around the surrounding blocks, Bernhardt said, and a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter equipped with heat-seeking technology later detected a signal in a nearby yard.

Responding officers then found the man under a swing set, Bernhardt said. A “violent struggle” ensued while trying to arrest him, Bernhardt said, and one officer injured his hand while another was bitten by a police dog assisting in the search.

The man was taken into custody around 3:30 a.m., he said.

Bernhardt declined to identify the alleged shooter, but said his 9mm handgun was recovered at the original scene. The man was expected to face charges including attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, Bernhardt said.

All three injured officers were hospitalized, and two of them — the officer who was grazed, and the officer who was bitten by the dog — had been released by Friday morning, he said.