Dramatic police body camera video shows a Florida officer being dragged for over half a mile through the streets of a retirement community after he tried to stop a fleeing driver suspected to be under the influence of drugs.
Pembroke Pine Police Officer Jon Cusack responded to Century Village early Tuesday after residents called to report two people that appeared unconscious in a parked car.
In the video, Cusack, a 19-year veteran, approaches a black Honda and discovers a man and woman, unresponsive or asleep, inside. A baggie with an unknown substance was visible in the car, police said.
As Cusack tries to wake them up, the male driver, later identified as Thomas Cabrera, places the car into drive and the officer reaches inside the car to stop him. Cabrera takes off dragging Cusack as he holds on to the door's frame.
At one point, the car's speedometer can be seen in the video reaching more than 60 mph before Cusack let's go and falls on the ground. His uniform and shoes "were shredded from being dragged along the roadway," according to a police report.
Cabrera then led police on a chase through Broward County, reaching speeds of over 100 mph, before the Honda was slowed by commuter traffic on I-595 and boxed in by several squad cars. Officers approached the car with guns drawn and took Cabrera and the female passenger into custody.
Cabrera was charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license.
According to a police report, Cabrera told officers he and his fiancée were doing cocaine and heroin prior to Cusack arriving.
Cusack’s injuries were serious but not life-threatening. He was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood where he will undergo surgery for "significant road rash injuries” to his arms and legs," police said.
