Officer injured attempting to prevent theft of patrol car

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A North Little Rock police officer has been injured while attempting to stop a man from stealing a patrol car.

Police say the officer was trying to apprehend a suspect who was allegedly harassing children at a bus stop Tuesday morning. The suspect climbed onto the roof of a storage building near the officer’s patrol car, jumped off and got behind the wheel of the cruiser.

Police said the officer grabbed onto the passenger side door to stop the suspect. Police say the officer was then dragged about 40 to 50 yards before the cruiser crashed into a house.

The officer was thrown into a fence and injured his head and hip.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (https://bit.ly/2f7kc2M ) that a police spokesman said the officer’s injuries don’t appear to be life-threatening.

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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, https://www.arkansasonline.com