Officer Dragged Into Suspect's Vehicle and Taken on High-Speed Wild Ride, Cops Say

A routine traffic stop by a Georgia police officer turned into an unforgettably wild encounter this week when a suspect is accused of speeding off... with the cop inside the car.

It happened to Officer Brian Wallace with the Marietta Police Department on Thursday morning as he conducted a traffic stop for a moving violation, according to a police statement.

The suspect's Ford Fusion had three male occupants and initially pulled to the shoulder in heavy morning traffic, the statement said.

During his initial encounter, Wallace said the driver cooperated but noted that "his body language seemed odd" so he had the driver exit the vehicle.

Officer Wallace also said he smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and called for a back-up officer to assist in a search.

When back-up arrived, police say the driver had a change of heart about cooperating and attempted to get back into the car.

A struggle ensued during which a passenger allegedly put the car in gear, kicking off what cops called a mile-long "kidnapping" with Wallace pinned inside the vehicle against the driver seat.

According to the statement, the suspects wrestled with Officer Wallace inside their vehicle at speeds up to 71 mph through congested traffic, muddy dirt roads and rough terrain.

Officer Wallace later said that roughly halfway into the ordeal he decided to pull the driver door closed in order to keep from being thrown out onto the roadway.

The chase came to a stop in a muddy pit, where the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the suspects briefly attempted to flee before they were apprehended. 

Police have identified all three men as Massachusetts residents and say two handguns, which were thrown from the vehicle, have been recovered. All three suspects were placed under arrest and booked into Cobb Adult Detention Center.

While charges are not finalized yet, driver Cory Mood along with passengers Eyzaiya Moody and Walter Gadson Jr. all face charges ranging from assault, obstruction, fleeing and eluding, kidnapping, felon in possession of a firearm, including the original traffic violation charges.

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