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Officer Dragged A Distance During Traffic Stop

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco police are searching for two male suspects in the Hayes Valley neighborhood after the duo fled during a traffic stop Friday afternoon, prompting an officer to fire his gun at the fleeing SUV.

Two San Francisco police officers pulled over a “tanish gold”-colored Chevy Blazer near Webster and Fell Streets at 2:18 p.m. on suspicion of carrying narcotics, said police spokesperson officer Albie Esparza.

As an officer approached the driver’s side of the SUV, the driver “made a sudden movement toward the center console,” Esparza said. The officer saw what he thought was a bag of narcotics and reached into the car to control the driver’s arms, police said.

The driver then shifted his car into drive and accelerated away with the officer still leaning inside the car, dragging the officer for a few feet, police said.

A second officer fired one shot, which hit the fleeing vehicle.

The officer grappling with the driver was able to break free from the driver’s side, Esparza said, and suffered minor injuries but was not hospitalized.

Police do not know if the occupants in the SUV were hit by the bullet, Esparza said.

Twenty minutes later, the SUV was found abandoned on the 300 block of Webster Street, Esparza said.

“We now have two investigations going on,” Esparza said. “An assault on an officer and an officer-involved shooting.”