A convicted felon dragged a Chicago police officer with his car during a traffic stop in Lakeview, then ran from the scene, leaving a gun inside the vehicle, prosecutors said. Michael Franklin, 38, was held in lieu of $250,000 bail by Judge David Navarro during a bail hearing on Sunday afternoon.
Chicago cops pulled Franklin over in the 3200 block of North Sheffield for reckless driving around 9:37 p.m. Friday, officials said. He allegedly threw the car into reverse when an officer asked him to step out, dragging the officer, who was leaning into the driver’s side of the vehicle.
The Range Rover backed into a Chrysler 300, then struck a Chicago police squad car before slamming into a Lexus SUV and a Cadillac SUV that were parked nearby, a CPD crash report said.
Franklin ran from the crash scene and fled into a construction site along the L tracks just north of the Belmont CTA station, prosecutors said. Officers arrested him there.
The officer who was dragged suffered injuries to his neck, shoulder, and arm, prosecutors said. He was in good condition. Another officer dislocated an elbow while trying to climb a fence surrounding the construction area.
Police searched Franklin’s vehicle and found a loaded handgun inside a storage panel on the driver’s door, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors charged him with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and aggravated battery of a peace officer. Officials said that Franklin was convicted of armed robbery in 2002 and felony possession of a controlled substance in 2013.
Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood said he works full-time delivering medications and also works as a maintenance person for the Chicago Cubs. He is single and earned his GED.
Franklin must post 10% of his bail amount to be released from custody before trial.
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