October 02, 2009|By Peter Hermann | Peter Hermann,peter.hermann@baltsun.com
A city officer was injured Thursday afternoon when he was dragged five blocks by a car whose driver was trying to escape arrest in West Baltimore. In a separate incident in Westport, an officer shot a man suspected of dealing drugs who drew a gun during an undercover drug buy, authorities said.
The injured officer, whose name was not released, joined the department 18 months ago and was assigned to the Western District. He was listed in fair condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Details of his injuries were not released, but police said his bullet-resistant vest was shredded as he was dragged.
That incident began about noon when a man went to the Western District station for a meeting with officers, said Anthony Guglielmi, a Baltimore police spokesman. When the man realized that police intended to arrest him, he ran outside and got into a car, Guglielmi said.
An officer reached through the window and tried to grab the keys. As the driver sped off, another officer outside the station fired at least one shot, shattering the car's rear window, Guglielmi said.
The officer being dragged either fell or freed himself five blocks away on Edmondson Avenue. Police found the car, a red Acura, Thursday afternoon in the 300 block of N. Bruce St., but they were still looking for the suspect, identified as Rickey Hughes, 27, whose address was unknown.
Police declined to describe the meeting at the police station.
About 12:45 p.m., a city officer assigned to the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force shot a man on Pierpont Street in South Baltimore's Westport neighborhood, police said. The officer saw a suspected dealer pull a gun as another officer was making an undercover drug buy, Guglielmi said. Police ordered him to drop the weapon, and the task force officer fired several shots, hitting the man.
He was in serious condition at Shock Trauma, Guglielmi said. It was not immediately clear where or how many times the suspect was wounded.
Officers recovered a pistol at the scene, police said.
