The officer survived and was not seriously injured, they said; he was treated at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and released.
The driver, Kyndrel Dawson, 25, of Windham Road in Willimantic, was taken into custody after a search that involved five police agencies, police said. His charges include criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault; second-degree assault and assault on a police officer.
According to police, about 6:15 a.m., police responded to a report of an incident involving a white car in the area of Westomere Terrace and Montauk Avenue that made someone suspicious. When the officer talked to Dawson and tried to get him to leave the car, Dawson accelerated, dragging him more than 800 feet before he fell onto the street.