Officer dragged by vehicle

Posted: Friday, September 3, 2010 10:38 pm

Three felony charges were filed against a local man following a Thursday night incident in which a Union City police officer was dragged alongside a vehicle.
Nicholis Pierre Dean, 24, of 308 East Cheatham St., Union City, was arrested at 11:23 p.m. in the 100 block of Keller Street, according to a Union City Police Department report.
He was charged with the felony offenses of reckless endangerment, aggravated assault and evading arrest, as well as a misdemeanor charge of sixth offense driving on a suspended or revoked license.
The incident began about 11:05 p.m. in the 800 block of East Main Street when police officer PFC Ben Hudson observed a vehicle allegedly swerve into the wrong lane and cross back over into the eastbound lane, then speed up and continue to veer from side to side. The officer said he signaled for the vehicle to pull over and the driver — identified as Dean — stopped in the 100 block of Keller Street.
Hudson reported he requested to see Dean’s driver’s license and insurance, but the driver indicated he did not have either and said he had an identification. A check by police revealed his license had been suspended in March 2005 and that he had five prior convictions for driving on a suspended license, including four from Tipton County and one from Fayette County.
Hudson said he was attempting to place Dean under arrest for sixth offense driving on a suspended license and was attempting to open the driver’s side door when the driver allegedly said “no” and pulled on the door in an attempt to close it, according to the report.
As Hudson leaned into the vehicle and grabbed the driver’s arm, Dean allegedly put the vehicle into drive and stepped on the accelerator — which resulted in the police officer being dragged alongside the vehicle for about 50 yards, at which point he was able to force the vehicle’s gear shift into park and place Dean under arrest.
Published in The Messenger 9.3.10