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Driver drags state trooper on road while fleeing traffic stop

A Massachusetts trooper who pulled over a driver for traffic violations was dragged alongside the driver's vehicle.
Driver drags state trooper on road while fleeing traffic stop
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A man is in jail after turning a traffic stop into a car chase that could've turned tragic for a trooper who stopped him.

Massachusetts State Police released dashcam footage of the incident while they were still searching for him Thursday before his arrest later that day.

It shows two troopers leaning into 31-year-old Derek Lobo's door as they spoke to him on a Brockton street Wednesday. One trooper had pulled him over for motor vehicle violations, police said. 

The footage shows one trooper hastily lean farther into the vehicle in one second as the other tries to pull his colleague away. At that point, Lobo accelerates, jerking the car back onto the road from the shoulder with one trooper's foot dangerously close to a tire and the other trooper still leaning inside of the driver's side open door.

The trooper still holding on to the car door is dragged along with Lobo for several yards, then he is soon after dropped in the middle of the road, as the other trooper runs back to the police car. The dropped trooper then gets back on his feet and runs to join his partner to begin their pursuit of the driver.

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They were unable to find Lobo after the initial chase, prompting the posting of the dashcam footage and asking for the public's help in finding him.

After an "intensive investigation," multiple troopers from different units — including the officer who was dragged by Lobo — located the wanted driver inside a Brockton residence and took him into custody

He was booked on 11 different charges including assault and battery on a police officer and with a dangerous weapon, trafficking in fentanyl, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and other traffic violations. 

Lobo's bail was set at $5,000, and he's expected to be arraigned Friday. 

The trooper who was dragged sustained minor injuries, the police department said.


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