Lawrence police arrest man wanted for dragging officer

With his hands behind his back, Hector Rivera was taken into custody.

It was one day after police say he took off from a traffic stop in Lawrence and dragged an officer during his escape.

“They were up here – they came up the steps, and they were up here,” Ines Melendez said, who saw the arrest.

Melendez works in Plaistow, New Hampshire. A cell phone video shows law enforcement officers surrounding her business, which is below several apartments.

“I heard banging upstairs, and then a short time later I saw one of the marshals with a battering ram, and shortly thereafter they brought him down,” Melendez said.

Investigators said Rivera has two warrants out for his arrest. Tuesday night, detectives say Rivera was a passenger in a car that was pulled over and decided to get away.

Officer Ariel Cruz tried to stop him and got tangled up with the car, getting dragged almost two blocks.

“I was heartbroken. It’s a scary thing,” Jamie Mejia said, the officer’s step-dad.

The officer’s stepfather said Cruz was flown to a Boston Hospital. He is conscious and talking, but badly hurt.

“What I think it is is his knee … I don’t know which one, and some injuries on his head. I don’t know how serious,” Mejia said.