The Associated Press
BARRE, Vt. (AP) - A 21-year-old Milton man faces several charges for allegedly speeding away from an attempted drug arrest with an officer hanging out his car window.
City police said the incident began when Cpl. Jamie Palmisano, an undercover narcotics officer, and a federal agent watched from a distance an apparent sale of drugs by a known crack cocaine dealer in a convenience store parking lot.
The buyer then got into the passenger seat of a car, which left. Palmisano alerted another Barre City officer to pull the driver over. When Palmisano arrived at the scene, he told the pair in the car that he had witnessed the exchange.
Milton resident Andrew Dulac, who was behind the wheel of the car, allegedly reached for the gearshift, threw it into drive and began speeding away.
Palmisano instantly flung his arms, head and torso through the open window to pull the keys from the ignition. With the car accelerating down the road toward Montpelier, Palmisano was left with his legs and waist dangling outside while he struggled to rip the keys out and stop the vehicle.
After hanging onto the accelerating car for more than 200 feet, Palmisano made a split-second decision to get out while he still could.
“Dulac’s vehicle accelerated quickly and it was evident he was not going to stop, even considering that I was hanging out of the vehicle,” Palmisano wrote in a police affidavit.
The officer released his grasp, cradled his head and hit the asphalt, tumbling several feet down the westbound side of North Main Street and suffering bloody cuts and bruises.
The driver of the car was later apprehended and charged Tuesday with multiple felonies. The alleged crack dealer from New York City is still at large.
Police said Dulac is being held on $15,000 bail after pleading not guilty to five charges Tuesday, including felony aggravated assault on a police officer. The charges carry a combined maximum of 24 years in prison. He is on probation for Chittenden County drug convictions from 2003 and appeared in Vermont District Court in Burlington last week to answer to charges that he violated his parole.