A 22-year-old man from Houston, Texas, has been charged with dragging a law enforcement officer by the arm. He pulled the reserve sheriff’s officer with him as he drove his car from the scene of an alleged crime. According to court records, the criminal charge against the suspect is aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer. The court imposed a $50,000 bond.
Law enforcement personnel had arrived to investigate a call regarding two men allegedly smoking crack cocaine near a gas station in Harris County. The reserve officer commanded the man who was charged in this case to emerge from a car at the scene. However, the man refused to comply and left the gas station while the lieutenant’s arm was inside the vehicle. He kept driving as he dragged the officer through the parking lot.
The officer escaped but tumbled several times in the parking lot while the driver fled the scene. The lieutenant received medical attention for minor scrapes and contusions but was not hospitalized. The officer’s partner took the patrol car and pursued the suspect, who was arrested about a mile from the gas station.
So far we have only heard one side of the story in this case: that of the law enforcement officers who were at the scene. There likely are many more facets to the story, but the man who was charged has not yet had a chance to give his side of the story, at least in public. He is considered to be innocent until proven guilty, even if the story to this point has been one-sided against him.
Source: Houston Chronicle, “Houston man accused of dragging sheriff’s officer,” Robert Stanton, July 11, 2012