Man drags officer while fleeing possible DUI stop
Aug 2, 2012, 1:13 PM | Updated: 1:32 pm
A man attempting to flee police drug an officer a short distance and led officers on a chase before being arrested, police said.
Slightly after midnight on August 2, a Mesa police lieutenant entered the Circle K located at Signal Butte and Southern to purchase a beverage. The clerk asked the officer to check on a vehicle that had been sitting near the gas pumps for approximately 45 minutes.
When the officer approached the car, he found a man, identified as Raymond Dawes, possibly passed out with the driver’s seat fully reclined. There were empty beer containers in the vehicle.
When Dawes awoke, the officer attempted to question him. Dawes allegedly searched for paperwork in his car before turning on the ignition and quickly accelerating. The officer attempted to stop Dawes and had his arm caught in the vehicle. He was drug a short distance before freeing himself.
The officer immediately ran to his vehicle and began following Dawes, who turned through several streets before merging onto the US 60 at Signal Butte. Dawes left the US 60 at Crismon, where deputies caught up to him and performed a PIT maneuver, successfully halting the vehicle.
Dawes was then taken into custody. He is currently charged with several counts of aggravated assault on law enforcement and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.
The officer who was allegedly drug by Dawes was treated for a shoulder injury at a local hospital.
