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Philadelphia Police Officer Dragged 5 Blocks By Vehicle During Traffic Stop In West Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It was a frightening turn of events in West Philadelphia as a traffic stop involving a stolen car went horribly wrong. Police say a suspect with a gun took off in a stolen car -- dragging an officer for nearly half a mile -- before crashing into some other cars.

The officer is in stable condition Wednesday after being treated at Presbyterian Hospital. Police say the officer is lucky he wasn't more hurt. The vehicle that was dragging him for blocks came to a crashing stop after slamming into some parked cars at 48th and Baltimore Avenue. 

Car pieces were left scattered on the road.

Police have identified the suspect as 25-year-old Amir Dickerson. He has been charged with aggravated assault, VUFA, resisting arrest, fleeing police, and other related offenses.

Security video appears to show the moments an officer and their partner pulled over a vehicle at 53rd Street and Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia just after 9:15 Tuesday night.

Video shows the vehicle dragging an officer slam into a parked SUV. The impact was so strong, a blue mail dropbox and trash are seen flying into the air. The loud bang startled neighbors.

"It had bass to it," Sianni Woodall, whose parked car was hit in the incident, said. "You could feel the noise that rifted through the neighborhood."

Police say the incident started five blocks away at 53rd Street and Baltimore Avenue, around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Security video appears to show Philadelphia police pulling over Dickerson, but as officers approach the 25-year-old driver, they spot a gun.

"When officers questioned him about the gun, the male immediately reached for the gun. That's when police reached for that arm that was reaching for the gun. The driver then turned the vehicle back on and took off at a high rate of speed," Philadelphia Police Chief  Inspector Scott Small said.

Police say the officer was dragged for five blocks traveling east on Baltimore Avenue. Security video shows as police chased after.

"The officer is extremely lucky," Small said. "Medics took that officer from the 18th District to Presbyterian Hospital. He has a laceration to his neck. He also has some bumps and bruises but mainly he's really shaken up."

The vehicle didn't stop until it crashed at 48th Street, smashing into Siani Woodall's vehicle. You can see the damage left behind.


"I was in disbelief. I was like that can't be my car," Woodall told Eyewitness News.

She had parked there just ten minutes before the crash after coming home from her second job.

"There is a saying that my aunt, my mom, and my grandmother would say, 'you don't have to worry about tearing your stuff up because someone else will always do it for you,'" Woodall said.

Police say with the help of backup officers, the suspect was apprehended.

On top of the suspect's stolen vehicle, officers recovered a stolen semi-automatic gun from the suspect.

CBS3's Matt Petrillo and Wakisha Bailey contributed to this report.

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