Police seek help to ID suspect who dragged Whitehall officer with car
Allegheny County Police are asking for help to identify a suspect accused of dragging a Whitehall police officer with a vehicle during a traffic stop early Saturday.
The suspect is described as a middle-aged, heavy-set black man who is possibly from the McKeesport area.
The vehicle involved,a gray 2018 Chrysler 300, was discovered by police, unoccupied, on Monday morning, however police are still seeking the public’s assistance in locating a man involved in the incident.
Whitehall police stopped the vehicle for suspicion of DUI at about 3:45 a.m. Saturday morning in the 4700 block of Clairton Boulevard, near Baldwin High School.
The driver was taken into custody without incident, but the passenger became unruly, according to police.
The suspect jumped into the driver’s seat and as police tried to remove him from the car, the suspect put it into drive and grabbed on to one of the officers.
The policeman was dragged about 240 feet before being thrown from the vehicle.
He was taken to a local hospital, treated and released.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the county tip line at 1-833-255-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.
The department can also be reached on social media.
Tawnya Panizzi is a TribLive reporter. She joined the Trib in 1997. She can be reached at tpanizzi@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.