Man arrested after trying to flee officer, who was dragged by car

A Wichita police officer escaped serious injury when he was dragged about 50 feet by a car as a man was escaping.

But the 28-year-old man ultimately didn’t get away after all, police said. His parents brought him back to the scene of the incident, and he was later arrested.

The episode unfolded at about 6 p.m. Monday in the 1600 block of South Old Manor, Lt. James Espinoza said. That’s next to Harry east of Oliver.

The officer went to that area in response to a disturbance call at an apartment complex, Espinoza said. He spotted a man sitting in a car in an alley next to the apartments, so he stopped.

By the time the officer had exited his patrol car, the man was outside his car. The officer smelled marijuana, Espinoza said, so he tried to detain the man.

The man refused the officer’s commands and got back into his car, which was still running. The officer tried to remove the man from the car, Espinoza said, but the man accelerated the vehicle.

The officer was dragged about 50 feet, suffering injuries to his elbows and knees, before he fell free and the man drove away. The officer was treated at the scene for abrasions but was not taken to the hospital, Espinoza said.

As authorities were working the scene, the suspect “was brought back to the scene by his parents,” Espinoza said.

He was taken downtown for questioning and eventually booked on suspicion of a variety of offenses, including aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The 32-year-old officer, a nine-year veteran of the force, was expected to return to normal duty Tuesday, Espinoza said.

“When citizens make bad choices such as this one did, he could be looking at a more serious charge,” Espinoza said. “This could have been a horrendous tragedy for the officer.”

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Man arrested after trying to flee officer, who was dragged by car."