Police have charged a 25-year-old man with several offences after a Calgary officer was dragged by a car he had pulled over during a routine traffic check.
Const. Sean LaBrie had stopped the white Chevy Impala near the busy intersection of Deerfoot Trail and 16th Avenue on Friday morning and was talking to the driver through an open door when the car suddenly took off, dragging him.
"The driver put the car in gear and started driving away and the officer was trapped between the car door, which was open, and the body of the car and he was dragged for about 200 metres down the road," Insp. Jim Stinson said Friday.
LaBrie struggled with the driver and managed to get the car stopped, but not before it had sideswiped another vehicle.
"It wasn't very far but the cop was hanging outside the driver's door, and the car was moving about 50 or 60 [km/h] and it stopped and hit my car," Dave Maskwa told CBC News.
Police said Saturday they charged Andrio Martin, of no fixed address, with dangerous driving causing injury, assault to resist arrest, escaping custody, obstruction, resisting arrest and several Traffic Safety Act offences.
Officer treated for minor injuries
Stinson praised the officer for his actions.
"It's a remarkable situation and I've got to commend the officer for his bravery and his forethought to get into that vehicle and stop the car before it went down the road and created havoc in the intersection," he said.
The 10-year police veteran was treated in hospital for minor injuries.
"He was examined by the doctor and the prognosis was good," said Stinson, who visited LaBrie in the hospital.
"It looks like he's got some strains and some bruising and maybe a minor tear to his shoulder, but he'll be fine."
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