GRAND ISLAND — A Grand Island man was arrested for assaulting a police officer during the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 15.
At 8:34 p.m., a Grand Island Police Department officer observed a vehicle northbound on Broadwell Ave. and approaching the intersection with 4th St.
According to police, the vehicle failed to signal the right turn 100 feet and turned eastbound on 4th St. The side windows of the vehicle were tinted dark enough, the occupant inside could not be seen.
A traffic stop was initiated near the intersection of 4th and Madison St. The male driver was contacted, and he refused to give any documentation for the vehicle or himself.
The male was ordered out of the vehicle, and he refused. An officer removed the male’s seatbelt and attempted to extract the male from the vehicle while the male resisted and pulled away from the officer.
While the officer was engaged with the resisting driver, they put the vehicle in drive and accelerated at a high rate of speed with the officer still engaged with him.
The officer was able to disengage from the vehicle but sustained bodily injuries. The vehicle continued accelerating away from the traffic stop in a residential area.
Grand Island police later identified the driver as Juan Lucas Mejia, 30, from the vehicle information and the body camera footage from previous encounters with Mejia. A check of Mejia’s driver license showed it had been revoked.
Mejia was referred for Flight to Avoid Arrest, Assault on an Officer 2nd degree, Driving Under Revocation, Resisting Arrest, Obstructing an Officer, Window Tint Violation and Failure to Signal.
