4:01 pm: San Francisco police fired on a SUV this afternoon in the city’s Hayes Valley neighborhood after the driver fled a traffic stop, dragging an officer alongside the car for a short distance, a police spokesman said.
The incident took place at about 2:20 p.m. at Buchanan and Fell streets.
According to police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza, officers pulled over a tan or gold Chevrolet Blazer with two men inside as part of a suspected narcotics investigation.
When one of the officers approached the driver’s side of the vehicle, the driver “made some movement toward the center console area of the vehicle,” Esparza said.
When the officer tried to pull the driver’s arm away from the console, the driver took off, dragging the officer a few feet before he broke free, according to Esparza.
Another officer then opened fire on the fleeing vehicle, Esparza
said.
He did not know whether the vehicle or any of its occupants were hit.
Police found the vehicle at about 2:40 p.m., abandoned in the 300 block of Webster Street a few blocks away, according to Esparza.
The suspects have not yet been found, he said.
The officer who was dragged suffered minor injuries and did not have to be hospitalized, Esparza said.
Ari Burack, bay City News
2:54 pm: A San Francisco police officer was struck by a vehicle during a traffic stop this afternoon at Buchanan and Fell streets, a police spokesman said.
The incident took place just after 2:30 p.m.
The officer’s injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said.
The vehicle that struck the officer fled the scene, and police are searching the area, Esparza said.
