Police officer suffers minor injuries after being dragged by car

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This article was published 20/10/2017 (2379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg police officer is recovering, after he was dragged nearly 75 metres on Saturday by a fleeing driver.

According to police, the encounter began at around 2:15 a.m. on Saturday morning, when officers patrolling in the 300 block of St. Mary Avenue spotted a sedan with what appeared to be fresh damage on its side.

Officers pulled the driver over, and discovered he was the subject of two arrest warrants and court-ordered conditions. As an officer attempted to place the driver under arrest, the driver started to speed away.

The officer was caught by a seatbelt, police spokesman Cst. Jay Murray said, and was dragged for around 75 metres before working himself free: from near the front of the Pony Corral, to the corner of Vaughan Street.

He was not seriously injured, though he was treated in hospital and then released.

“His hand is swollen, and he could potentially be off work for some bit,” Murray said.

The car was later found in the 200 block of Balmoral Street, though the driver wasn’t with it. The vehicle also struck two parked cars during the flight, police said.

Police have identified a suspect, but have not released his name, pending an arrest warrant for this incident.

“Most traffic stops in this city go without any kind of incident, and are very controlled,” Murray said.

“Sometimes you run into an individual like this who, I’m going to guess the individual knew he was breaching court-ordered conditions and had two warrants, and made the decision to pull away.

“This person now is going to face significantly more severe charges than if they’d just said, ‘you got me.'”

Anyone with more information is encouraged to contact police at 204-986-6316.