Bradenton police officer injured after being dragged by car during traffic stop
By: -----
Bradenton, FL - A Bradenton police officer is recovering after he was dragged by a car during a traffic stop in the 1200 block of Martin Luther King Ave E.
At around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Bradenton Police (BPD) say officer Shane Sharp tried to conduct a traffic stop, and asked the driver, 19-year-old Lenny Macias-Rangel, to turn off the car 12 times.
BPD says Sharp opened the door and reached to shift the car into park when Macias-Rangel refused to turn his car off. Then, the driver sped up, pinning Sharp’s body against the dashboard. It drove about 150 feet and crashed into a pole, officials say.
Sharp was released from the hospital Wednesday morning.
Macias-Rangel is charged with two counts of aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, four counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver a controlled substance, and driving while license suspended, revoked, canceled, or disqualified.