YOUNGSTOWN - Police say an officer shot a man in the stomach during a traffic stop about 11:55 p.m. Sunday on the West Side.
A news release from the department said an officer pulled over a car at North Richview and Connecticut avenues for a traffic violation and the driver tried to get away by driving through several back yards.
The car then drove back onto North Richview Avenue and the officer blocked the car from going back onto Connecticut Avenue with his cruiser, but when he chased after the car on foot the car hit him.
The officer then fired several times, hitting the driver at least once.
The driver was being treated at St. Elizabeth Health Center. The officer was also treated and released from the hospital. A woman who was in the car was questioned and released by police.
Police have not yet released the names of the people involved.
Police Chief Rod Foley said the name of the officer involved will not be released until an Internal Affairs investigation is complete.
He also said the name of the driver of the car will not be released until he is formally charged, which could happen sometime today.
The officer involved was ''banged up pretty good,'' Foley said, and he added he was not sure when he would return to work. He did say officers who are involved in a shooting typically are placed on administrative leave for one or two days but the officer may be off longer than that because of his injuries.
The last time a city officer had to use a weapon was in April 2011, when Patrolman Michael Walker, who was working as an off-duty security officer at a Belmont Avenue seafood restaurant, shot and killed an armed robber.
An Internal Affairs cleared Walker of any wrongdoing in the shooting.