Englewood Officer Hangs On To Car Door As Gunman Speeds Off

Officer Maciej Mlynaryk was able to turn the ignition off, slowing the car, which struck a curb, they said.But the driver "continued to reach for his gun, fight with the officers and attempt to restart the car" before they took him into custody, Detective Capt. Timothy Torell said Tuesday.

The officers found the loaded .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol he was reaching for, in addition to a bag of pot, the captain said.The car's driver, who'd bailed out, was also caught, he said.

Torell said he was carrying nearly a pound of high-purity cocaine.

It began around 5 p.m. Saturday when Mlynaryk and Officer Anthony Gallo stopped a New York-registered rental car for a traffic offense on Decatur Avenue, the captain said.The officers immediately smelled pot as they approached the vehicle -- and the 29-year-old driver, Jahnoi Aarons of Troy, NY, jumped out, he said.

Gallo chased down Aarons, leaving Mlynaryk alone with the front-seat passenger, 26-year-old Cade Cordwell of Schenectady, NY, Torell said.

Cordwell then "jumped into the driver’s seat, began reaching for a gun he had in his pocket and began to drive away," speeding down the street with Mlynaryk "partially protruding out of the front driver’s side window," he said.

Sgt. Kenneth Londahl-Smidt arrived and assisted Mlynaryk who sustained a leg injury while being dragged, Torell said.The upstate New York men were both sent to the Bergen County Jail pending hearings -- Aarons for carrying drugs with the intent to sell them and Cordwell with aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and various weapons offenses, among other counts.

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