Suspect With Lengthy Rap Sheet Charged After Dragging Poughkeepsie Officer
A terrifying incident that unfolded early Tuesday afternoon resulted in a Town of Poughkeepsie police officer suffering injuries. According to a post on the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department's Facebook page, the suspect involved has a lengthy record, including nine arrests since July 2021. Now, the 29-year-old suspect is facing a number of serious charges, including felonious assault on a police officer, and reckless engagement.
Town of Poughkeepsie police received a call of a man who had stolen items from The Home Depot store on North Road. An employee, who had given police a description of the suspect, followed the alleged thief on foot from the store location. A Town of Poughkeepsie officer arrived to see the suspect run into the parking lot of the nearby Campus Deli.
Police say the suspect got into an unattended vehicle that had it's keys left in the ignition, and tried to drive off as the officer approached. The officer ran to the vehicle and tried to remove the fleeing suspect from the driver's side, only for the suspect to accelerate and drag the officer with the moving motor vehicle.
What occured next was a very scary and nearly tragic scene. The suspect refused to comply as he continued to accelerate the vehicle, hitting two parked cars, and then jumping a curb and landing on to North Road. The car hit a center median and then hit a vehicle going northbound on North Road. Officials say both the officer and the 29-year-old suspect were ejected after the crash and pinned underneath the vehicle.
Both the officer and the suspect were injured and taken to Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital.