Police searching for Turtle Creek man they say dragged a Whitehall police officer after a traffic stop
Police are looking for a Turtle Creek man who they say dragged a Whitehall police officer more than 200 feet during a traffic stop last Saturday.
Allegheny County police have an arrest warrant for Alphonso Francis, 27.
Whitehall police stopped the vehicle for suspicion of DUI at about 3:45 a.m. April 30 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.
Police now say the passenger was Francis.
Police say Francis jumped into the driver’s seat and as police tried to remove him from the car, he 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. The officer was treated for injuries and released.
On Wednesday, county police charged Francis with aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, recklessly endangering another person, person not to possess a firearm and driving under suspension.
Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the Allegheny County Police Tipline at 1-833-ALL-TIPS (1-833-255-8477).
Callers can remain anonymous. The department can also be reached via its social media sites.
Dave Williams is the TribLive night news editor. A Harrison native and Tarentum resident, Dave has worked for the Trib and one of its predecessors since 1978. He started as a sports reporter but soon transitioned to news. He became an assistant city editor in the late 1980s, briefly served as editorial page editor, but mostly has served as night editor for about 30 years.He can be reached at dwilliams@triblive.com.
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