BUTLER TWP — Charges against a man suspected of ramming a trooper's cruiser during a police chase were dismissed Thursday when the investigating officer did not show up in court for a preliminary hearing.

Prosecutors, however, said they planned to have the charges refiled. And by the end of the day, police had prepared a new criminal complaint.

Police were hoping to have an arrest warrant for David R. Coleman, 50, of Butler Township in hand “first thing (this morning),” said Cpl. Tim Morando.

But until then, Coleman remains a suddenly free man.

He was released from Butler County Prison about 12:30 p.m., an hour or so after District Judge Kevin O'Donnell agreed to dismiss his case at the request of county public defender Joseph Smith.

Coleman had been behind bars on $100,000 bail since his arrest March 30 for the alleged chase that resulted in 16 charges — three of them felonies.

Police said the chase started in Butler on the afternoon of March 30 when Coleman ran a stop sign. City officers tried to pull him over but he refused to stop, authorities said.

Butler Township police and state police eventually joined in the pursuit that crossed into the township.

The chase ended, according to court documents, when Coleman traveled around a city patrol car on Whitestown Road and deliberately struck the state police cruiser.

Trooper Kevin Goss was injured in the crash. He was treated for unknown injuries at Butler Memorial Hospital.

Police suspect Coleman was impaired while driving the sport utility vehicle that was also occupied by a 13-year-old boy, a relative of the defendant's.

Coleman was subsequently arraigned on felony charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, and fleeing or attempting to elude police.

Additionally, he is charged with misdemeanor charges of DUI, child endangerment, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest, and a list of other traffic violations.

Coleman was jailed to await his preliminary hearing, which was set for Thursday.

But after a lengthy wait for the arresting officer to appear, Smith asked O'Donnell to dismiss the case against his client.

Prosecutor Ben Simon, a county assistant district attorney, advised the judge that the officer was at a required training conference in Harrisburg and apparently was unaware of the hearing.

Before Thursday, police or prosecutors had not asked for a continuance of the hearing.

Immediately after O'Donnell dismissed the charges, Simon announced his office would move to file the same charges.

“We plan to call the barracks,” he said, “and advise (police) to refile.”

Because the charges were dismissed without prejudice, Simon said, they can be refiled.

Smith, following the proceedings, said he would contact his client and advise him of what happened.

Beyond that, he said, “I'll wait to see what the commonwealth and state police decide to do.”

The dismissal, Smith noted, also meant that Coleman's bond was vacated, which led to his release.

Morando said police plan to ask the on-call district judge to sign the new criminal complaint Friday morning and issue an arrest warrant for Coleman.

The defendant would be contacted and asked to turn himself in. If he doesn't, Morando said, police would have to pick him up.

Once arrested, he would be arraigned on the same charges as before. Bail again would be set, and so would a new preliminary hearing date.