Suspect shot, Jersey City officer dragged after stopping car

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- A suspect was shot by Jersey City police after an officer was dragged during a car stop.

Just before 12:45 a.m. Thursday, the officers tried to question the driver of a stolen car they followed, then pulled over at Martin Luther King Drive and Virginia Avenue.

Police said when one of the officers attempted to remove the driver from the car, he instead drove off. The officer was dragged by the vehicle and his foot was injured.

The officer fired at the vehicle and the suspect was shot in the head.

The suspect was taken to Jersey City Medical Center for treatment of a non-life threatening injury.

The officer was not seriously injured and was talking to fellow officers before he went to the hospital.

Charges are pending against the suspect. It is unclear if anyone else was in the car.

The Hudson County Prosecutors Office will investigate the shooting.

A statement from the city confirmed that the officers were attempting to arrest the driver of a stolen vehicle when he resisted and the officer was dragged. "As the use of deadly force is the most serious action an officer takes on our behalf, Mayor (Steven) Fulop has consistently supported an impartial investigation by a completely different entity and a presentation of the facts to a grand jury in all such cases."

The city will cooperate with the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, the statement said.