Woman drags officer at traffic stop

HARTFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A Hartford police officer suffered minor injuries when a 27-year-old woman sped away during a traffic stop, dragging the officer a short distance.

Around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, the officer pulled the woman's vehicle over near Center and Shephard streets in Hartford. The woman, Tiffani Oliver, gave him a fake, out-of-state driver's license, and when she was questioned about it, she began to drive away. The officer tried to stop her, but was instead dragged a short distance by the side of the vehicle.

He made it back to his car and called for back-up to pursue her. Oliver's car, a 1998 Oldsmobile, was spotted on Red Arrow Highway, and she tried several times to ram into the patrol cars.

Oliver turned her vehicle north on 59 1/2 Street, and then east on Butcher Road and back west on Red Arrow Highway. She crashed into a ditch on Red Arrow Highway just east of 59 1/2 Street. She got out of the car and ran into the woods, where a police K-9 unit found her hiding in heavy thicket. She was arrested, but not before struggling with authorities.

Oliver is being held at the Van Buren County Jail on charges of fleeing and eluding, resisting/obstructing officers, assault on a police officer, and driving under the influence of drugs. Her bond was set at $10,000.

The officer was treated for injuries to an ankle and a wrist.