New Jersey Officer Dragged by Vehicle on Traffic Stop

A Newark, New Jersey police officer was issuing a ticket to somebody on a traffic stop when the driver decided to drive away, dragging the officer with the vehicle. The unidentified officer has serious injuries, but is expected to survive.

NJ.com reports:
A Newark police officer suffered serious injuries when he was struck and dragged by a car that fled the scene early Sunday, authorities said.

The 37-year-old officer, who was listed in stable condition Sunday night, was attempting to issue a traffic summons to a vehicle around 3:40 a.m. near Foundry and Roanoke streets when that vehicle hit him, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

The officer, a 14-year veteran of the force, was expected to survive, Ambrose said earlier on Sunday. Authorities did not release the officer’s name, citing safety reasons.

No arrests have been made and the investigation was ongoing, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the prosecutor’s Major Crimes Unit. Preliminary reports from the prosecutor’s office first said a second vehicle hit the officer, but the agency corrected that account in a statement issued later.

“A police officer was almost killed this morning because a driver didn’t want to get a ticket, choosing to flee and drag the officer 80 yards down the street,” said Newark Fraternal Order of Police President James Stewart Jr. “He is surrounded by family at the hospital and has a long road to recovery ahead of him.”

Information about this incident are still sketchy. Presumably, the suspect is known because he had already been written a ticket, but we don’t know why they haven’t been arrested yet. Hopefully this officer’s injuries are not too severe and the suspect is located quickly.