A Village Public Safety Officer and a driver were both hospitalized Tuesday after a run-in with a suspect who tried to bribe the VPSO, then dragged the officer behind his vehicle for about 50 feet behind his vehicle before crashing into another vehicle.
An Alaska State Trooper dispatch said the incident began around 3 p.m. when VPSO Padron found 25-year-old Tanner Stack at a business on the South Tongass Highway near Ketchikan. He wasn’t with his third-party custodian, thus violating his conditions of release from jail. Stack initially tried to bribe Padron and gave the officer a false name, troopers said.
When Padron tried to arrest him, Stack fled in his vehicle, dragging Padron for over 5o feet, according to troopers. Stack then hit another vehicle and fled the scene.
Padron “fell from the vehicle to the ground,” according to troopers. Medical personnel responding to the scene of the crash transported Padron and the driver of the other vehicle to PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center for their injuries. Both were later released after receiving treatment.
The Ketchikan Police Department also responded to the scene and were able to find Stack at a home on Killer Whale Avenue in Saxman, near Ketchikan.
Stack was charged with two counts of third-degree assault, bribery, leaving the scene of a crash and fourth-degree escape. He was booked at the Ketchikan Correctional Center by troopers.
