Warning: Contains footage some readers may find upsetting
The moment a police officer clung onto the bonnet of a speeding car being driven by a suspect has been revealed in a shocking new video.
The heart-stopping moment happened back in 2021, when Iowa police officer, Patrick McCarty, attempted to arrest Dennis Guider Jr for a previous warrant.
As reported by 7 News WWNYTV, the arrest originally started as a traffic stop, with officer McCarty informing Guider - who was a passenger initially - there was a warrant for his arrest for a forgery case in Illinois.
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“I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it sounds like you’ve got a warrant out of Illinois,” McCarty said in a video recorded by his body cam.
This is when Guider slid over to the driver’s seat and started to drive the car, leading to McCarty to pull his gun and yell at him to stop the car.
“Stop the f**king car!" McCarty can be heard shouting in the footage.
When Guider didn't listen and allowed the car to carry on rolling forward, McCarty leapt up onto the bonnet and pointed his gun at the suspect - but this wasn't enough to stop him.
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Guider carried on driving with the officer on the bonnet, despite the presence of more squad cars who arrived to assist, and eventually reached speeds of up to 50 mph, resulting in McCarthy being thrown from the roof of the car - after managing to climb up onto it.
Dash cam footage from another squad car captured this harrowing moment, which ended up with McCarthy - a young officer who had worked for the Carroll Police Department for around four years before the incident - breaking his back.
Miraculously, McCarthy survived to tell the tale and was only away from work for a little more than three months.
Speaking at a hearing last month, McCarty said: “Each situation is different. It certainly didn’t play out the way I intended.”
Guider later pleaded guilty to serious injury by vehicle and was sentenced to up to five years in prison, according to the Des Moines Register.
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Carroll County Attorney, John Werden, who prosecuted the case and has more than 20 years of experience, said: "That is the most reckless driving behavior I’ve seen in my entire career."
He also argued that Guider’s prison term in Iowa should not be served concurrently with his term in Illinois because of the serious threat of injury posed to McCarty during the chase.