A plainclothes officer was dragged 150 feet while fighting for control of a stolen car fleeing a McCully gas station last week as another officer pulled his gun but did not fire out of fear he might hit the policeman, according to court documents.
The officer who was dragged while hanging outside the driver’s side of the car and another officer were injured, according to a police affidavit filed in Honolulu District Court detailing the arrest of Darryl Higgins of Ewa Beach.
On the afternoon of March 25, shortly before the incident occurred near Punahou and King streets and Washington Middle School, three plainclothes officers had followed a driver after he was seen speeding on Kalakaua Avenue near Philip Street. The officers trailed the driver to a Tesoro gas station and ran a license plate check, which showed the silver 1999 Honda had been stolen a day earlier in Kailua, the affidavit said.
When the man got out of the vehicle to go to the gas station’s cashier booth, officers approached the car and said, "Police. Get on the ground," according to the affidavit. The man ignored the police commands and jumped into the vehicle, the affidavit said. One of the officers jumped on top of the suspect, fighting for control of the gear shift, and the suspect drove 150 feet with the officer’s legs hanging out of the car.
One of the officers drew his handgun and continued to yell commands at the suspect from the passenger side. Realizing that he was too close to the officer struggling with the suspect, the officer did not fire the gun, the affidavit said.
When the Honda accelerated out of the gas station, it hit a curb and narrowly missed a utility pole on Punahou Street. The car broadsided a pickup truck and was then hit by a van making a right turn from King Street onto Punahou Street.
After the collision, the suspect continued to resist and tried to flee, climbing over a female passenger in the Honda, the affidavit said.
The officer who was dragged suffered multiple contusions on his left arm, shoulder and lower back, the affidavit said.
The suspect’s injuries included bruises to his face and upper body area.
The 27-year-old female passenger sustained a broken ankle. She was arrested on suspicion of car theft but was not charged.
A second plainclothes police officer injured his right arm while attempting to drag the suspect out of the car before he sped out of the station, the affidavit said.
Higgins has been charged with first-degree attempted assault, assault on a law enforcement officer, auto theft and third-degree promotion of dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail is set at $25,000.
Higgins’ preliminary hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in District Court.
Higgins’ past felony convictions include two for auto theft. He also was convicted of petty misdemeanor theft.
