A video clip showed a police officer in the US state of Iowa clinging to the roof of a man’s car, while it was traveling at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour, according to what was reported by the British newspaper The Independent, Saturday , May 20, 2023.
It comes after police stopped Dennis Guider Jr., from Illinois, for a traffic violation, only to discover he had a warrant for his arrest for forgery.
Body camera footage of the policeman showed Officer Patrick McCarty approaching the window of a “red sedan,” as the officer told Ghaider and a woman riding with him, “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it looks like you have an Illinois arrest warrant.”
Officer McCarty drew his gun and jumped on the hood of the car, while ordering Guider to slow down, as the officers followed him in fast pursuit that was reported to be going up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) an hour.
During the pursuit, Officer McCarty fell off the roof of the vehicle and fractured a vertebra in his lower back.
On Thursday, May 18, Ghaidar was sentenced to up to five years in prison for causing serious motor vehicle injury, after pleading guilty and avoiding the charge of evading arrest.
Guider told the court in Iowa that he feared for his life and was frightened when the white police officer jumped onto his car with a ready gun in his hand.
“I feared for my life after the officer pulled his gun and jumped on the hood of my car,” he wrote in a letter in February.
The officer in charge of the case admitted at a hearing last week that he had not been trained to jump the hood of a moving car.
“Every situation is different. It certainly didn’t turn out the way I intended,” Officer McCarty said.
“Officer McCarty conducted himself with professionalism, treating everyone with dignity,” remarked County Judge Joseph McCarville in the midst of the sentencing. “It’s a shame, however, that you subsequently forced your girlfriend out of the car and took off with her.”
