Police Say Man Dragged Officer

An apparently angry motorist dragged a foot-patrol officer 40 feet by her arm in the midst of Huntington Beach’s downtown shopping district Sunday afternoon, police said.

Police allege that Jose Hernandez, 20, of Garden Grove grabbed the arm of Officer Kirstin Innis after she attempted to stop his beige 1997 Toyota Camry for a traffic violation.

Innis and another officer stopped the car in the 100 block of Main Street at 3:53 p.m.

Hernandez dragged the officer, then released his grasp and fled the scene in his car with three juvenile passengers, police said.

Police in cars were able to locate and stop Hernandez. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and taken to the Huntington Beach jail. The three passengers were captured after fleeing on foot from the car, two as they ran through a nearby housing development. The other suspects were not identified because of their age.

The officer was transported to Hoag Hospital, where she was treated and released. Lt. Bruce Kelly said Innis suffered a concussion and scrapes and bruises to her arms and legs.

Kelly would only say that Innis had stopped Hernandez for a traffic violation. Innis is assigned to cover the downtown area on foot because there is a lot of shopping and traffic that can be best covered by walking patrol, Kelly said.

Motorists must drive very slowly because there is so much traffic, and because they go slowly, foot patrol officers often flag them down if there is a violation, Kelly said.

“She was lucky. Nothing was broken. She might be off a week [from work],” Kelly added.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident is asked to called the detective bureau at (714) 375-5066 during business hours.