A Florida cop’s body camera captured a terrifying scene Tuesday as an officer desperately clung to the side of a fast-moving car, and was dragged nearly a kilometre.
The footage, released by the Pembroke Pines Police Department in Pembroke Pines, Fla., shows Officer Jon Cusak responding to a call of a possible overdose on Southwest 125 Avenue.
According to police, security staff at a nearby gated community called 911 after they spotted two unresponsive individuals and a “clear baggie containing an unknown substance”.
As captured in the body camera footage, the officer approaches a parked blue Honda with two occupants, both asleep in the front two seats.
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Cusak engaged with the driver, identified by police as Thomas Cabrera, 38, for a short time before attempting to reach into the vehicle.
In a second, the situation becomes dire as Cabrera hits the accelerator, sending the car flying across the parking lot with Cusak clinging to the side.
For nearly a kilometre, Cusak was dragged at high-speed down a residential road before he finally let go, rolling across the pavement and onto the grassy median.
Cabrera and the other female occupant of his vehicle continued to flee, but were apprehended by police a short time later after a pursuit through rush-hour traffic.
According to the Pembroke Pines Police Department, Cusak was taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
According to the Florida Sun-Sentinel, Cabrera has been charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding, driving with a suspended licence and reckless driving.