Thomas L. LaForceBrooklyn police
BROOKLYN, Ohio – A Brook Park man faces felony charges that accuse him of dragging a Brooklyn police officer with his car as he tried to speed away during a traffic stop.
Thomas L. LaForce, 34, is charged with felonious assault on a police officer and fleeing and eluding, police said.
His arraignment has not yet been scheduled, Parma Municipal Court records show.
The officer suffered minor injuries in the Friday incident on Ridge Road near Southfield Avenue, police said.
The officer stopped LaForce’s car just after 2 p.m. because he recognized it as one used in a Feb. 20 theft of two surveillance cameras from Sam’s Club in Brooklyn. The officer also recognized LaForce as a suspect in that theft, police said.
LaForce refused to get out of the car and tried to drive away. The car dragged the officer for a short distance, police said.
LaForce led police on a short chase before he lost control of the car and crashed. The car rolled onto its side, police said.
LaForce, the officer and a second officer were treated for minor injuries at MetroHealth. Brooklyn police did not say how the second officer was injured.
LaForce’s criminal history includes previous convictions for theft and drug possession, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court records show.
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