Bodycam Shows Officer Dragged Half-Mile By Vehicle In High-Speed Chase

A Florida officer was dragged about half a mile at high-speed by a vehicle during a pursuit of a man suspected of being under the influence. The officer’s body camera captured him holding on to the side of the car.

Officer Jon Cusack, a 19-year veteran of the Pembroke Pines police department responded to a call from a resident Tuesday in Century Village concerning two people who appeared unconscious in a car, reported ABC affiliate KABC. The body cam, before it became dislodged, captured the early morning chase through the streets of Broward County.

Video shows Cusack approaching the vehicle where a man and woman appeared unresponsive. As Cusack tried to awaken the two, the driver, identified as Thomas Cabrera, 38, of Pines, Florida, woke up and shifted the car into drive.

As Cusack reached into the car to stop Cabrera, the car sped off with the officer attached to the door frame. He eventually lost grip on the car and tumbled to the ground. A bag containing an unknown substance was recovered from the car, police said.

Cabrera then led authorities on a 20-mile pursuit before he was stopped and arrested. Police charged him with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license. Cabrera then confessed he and his fiancé did cocaine and heroin before the incident, KBAC reported.

Cusack 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.

"Officer Cusack’s uniform and shoes were shredded from being dragged along the roadway," the police report read, according to KABC.

"The Defendant displayed a clear intent by his actions to take the life of [Officer] Cusack who was in full uniform, operating a marked police unit, while attempting to flee from officers," the report continued.

Cabrera served eight months in prison for grand theft in 2014.