By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- An Eustis Police Department officer was dragged approximately 330 feet by a suspect vehicle on August 1 after the driver refused to exit during a traffic stop and accelerated as officers attempted removal.
- The suspect grabbed the officer by her vest as she attempted to remove him from the vehicle, trapping her between the suspect and the steering wheel.
- The officer fell from the vehicle after being dragged more than 330 feet and was found lying motionless in the roadway by first responders.
- The suspect fled the scene but turned himself in after a warrant was issued.
- He faces charges including attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing to elude, and resisting arrest with and without violence.
EUSTIS, FLA. — An Eustis Police Department officer was dragged by a fleeing vehicle on August 1 during a traffic stop, sustaining injuries in an incident documented by body camera video.
An Eustis officer observed a driver swerving on a roadway and initiated a traffic stop. The vehicle continued forward and turned onto a side road in an effort to evade the officer. A second officer responded to assist.
Officers located the vehicle traveling at high speed and were able to stop it. Upon approach, officers observed smoke emanating from the vehicle’s hood. Body camera footage shows the male driver refusing to exit the vehicle or turn off the engine.
As officers attempted to forcibly remove the driver from the vehicle, the driver accelerated and drove away from the location. One officer was knocked to the ground during the initial acceleration and subsequently pursued the vehicle on foot.
The driver allegedly grabbed a second officer by her protective vest as he accelerated. The officer became trapped between the driver and the steering wheel and was dragged more than 330 feet before breaking free and falling from the vehicle to the roadway.
Chief Craig Capri stated that the officer was pinned against the suspect and steering wheel during the vehicle’s acceleration and dragging action. “Eight and nine seconds might seem like a quick time, but man, when you’re living it, it seems like hours,” Capri said.
First responders located the officer lying motionless in the roadway and provided emergency medical treatment.
A manhunt for the suspect followed the incident. The driver was not apprehended at the scene. After a warrant was issued for his arrest, he turned himself in to authorities. He has been charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing to elude police, resisting an officer with violence, and resisting an officer without violence.