WHITEHALL, PA – Last month, a cop was dragged 240 feet by a drunk driver while attempting to initiate a traffic stop. This week, police finally arrested the driver.
According to police, on Saturday, April 30, at approximately 3:44 am, officers from the Whitehall Borough Police Department conducted a traffic stop for the suspicion of DUI in the 4700 block of Clairton Blvd (Rt. 51). The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody without incident.
The driver wasn’t ready to comply with police officers.
“The passenger, however, became non-compliant and would not listen to the officer’s commands. He jumped into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and as officers attempted to get him out of the vehicle, he placed the car into drive and grabbed a hold of one of the officers,” the Allegheny Police Department said. “The officer was dragged approximately 240 feet before being thrown from the vehicle. The officer was transported to an area hospital and was treated and released. Whitehall Police requested the investigative assistance of the Allegheny County Police Homicide Unit.”
County police determined 27-year-old Alphonso Francis of Turtle Creek was the person responsible for assaulting the officer. On May 4, 2022, county police obtained an arrest warrant for Francis charging him with aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, recklessly endangering another person, a person not to possess a firearm and driving under suspension. Francis has not been taken into custody at this time.