KENNER – A 26-year-old man dragged a Kenner Police officer with his vehicle before leading police on a high speed chase that ended in Orleans Parish.
A resident reported a suspicious person who had been sitting in a parked vehicle for more than two hours in the 26900 block of Acron Street on November 13, according to the Kenner Police Department.
The responding officer smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle as he approached.
The driver, James Morris, frantically reached beneath the driver’s seat when the officer instructed him to step out of the vehicle.
Morris then accelerated and began to drive away while an officer was standing near the open driver’s side door.
The officer was dragged approximately 15 feet before breaking free from the fleeing vehicle, according to the KPD.
Morris led police on a wild high speed chase, weaving in and out of traffic on I-10 before driving against the flow of traffic when he exited in New Orleans.
He stopped the vehicle and fled on foot near the intersection of North Galvez and Kerlerec Streets, where he was apprehended.
Officers later determined Morris was in possession of 2.8 grams and drug paraphernalia.
The officer who was dragged from the vehicle suffered only minor injuries, according to the KPD.
Morris has been charged with aggravated assault with a motor vehicle upon a peace officer, aggravated flight from an officer, resisting an officer, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and traffic violations.