$10,000 bail set for driver facing 4th DUI charge; Police chase, scuffle with suspect.

• Position: LOCAL NEWS

Byline: Matthew Bruun

FITCHBURG - A city man was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail yesterday after being arraigned on charges including a fourth offense of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Charles Warren Smith, 53, of 24 Clyde St., was arrested early yesterday after a police pursuit in which he went the wrong way down a one-way street and tussled with officers, according to court records.

Officer Jeffrey L. Hurley's report indicates he saw a brown GMC Jimmy parked near Christ Church on Fox Street just after 1 a.m. yesterday and approached the driver, later identified as Mr. Smith.

"He said, `I don't have to talk to you,' and put the car in reverse and backed out into Fox Street," Officer Hurley wrote. He said he saw the vehicle go the wrong way down one-way Fox Street to Main Street.

Officers pursued with their blue lights on, Officer Hurley wrote, but Mr. Smith refused to stop and swerved toward several cruisers during the pursuit, driving at speeds between 20 and 45 mph.

The pursuit ended in the parking lot at St. Bernard's Elementary School on Summer Street, where Mr. Smith pulled in and refused to leave his vehicle, according to police.

An officer smashed the driver's side window of the vehicle and unlocked the door.

"The driver at this time started waving his hands wildly at me," Officer Hurley wrote.

Mr. Smith's seat belt was unbuckled but the driver tensed his hands around the steering...