A routine traffic stop ended with the officer being kidnapped, police say

Authorities charged a Massachusetts man with kidnapping, saying he drove off with a police officer after a routine traffic stop in Marietta, Ga. The car traveled up to 71 mph, police say, before hitting a muddy pit. (Courtesy of Marietta Police Department)

A traffic stop Thursday morning was routine for Brian Wallace, a police officer in Marietta, Ga.

Until he got kidnapped, police say.

Wallace pulled over a white Ford Fusion with three men inside about 7:30 a.m. Thursday for an unspecified reason, Marietta police said in a statement. While the driver, Cory Moody, was cooperative, Wallace said he felt his body language was off and had him exit the car, according to the statement. Wallace also smelled marijuana, so he called a backup officer, Sgt. Brian Honea, to help search the car, police said.

When Honea arrived, police said, Moody tried to get back inside his car. The two officers tried to pull him out and almost succeeded when the passenger allegedly put the car in drive and tried to take off, police said. Dash-cam footage shows Honea getting knocked to the ground. Wallace was stuck inside the car and pinned against the driver’s seat as it raced off, police said.

Wallace and Moody wrestled inside the car, police said, as the vehicle sped to 71 mph through congested traffic, muddy dirt roads and rough terrain — with the driver’s door still open. About a mile into the drive, Wallace pulled the door shut to keep himself from being thrown into traffic, police said.

JUST IN: @MariettaPD dash cam video shows the moment one officer is shoved; the other officer kidnapped in a suspect’s car during a rush hour traffic stop. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/IPt45dIcqs

— Chris Jose (@ChrisJoseWSB) March 8, 2018

One of the suspects got out of the vehicle before it stopped, police said, and they later arrested him.

The car came to a stop after getting stuck in a muddy pit, about a mile after it had taken off, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The two suspects ran but were quickly arrested, according to WSB-TV, a local television station.

Mugshots of the 3 men who allegedly kidnapped a @MariettaPD officer, shoved a sergeant on a busy road, and weaved through rush hour traffic. The driver, Cory Moody (pic right) & his passengers face several charges including kidnapping. https://t.co/BC36F0hYmB @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/eWWTkLAvFd

— Chris Jose (@ChrisJoseWSB) March 9, 2018

Moody and the passengers, Eyzaiya Moody and Walter Gadson Jr., will likely be charged with assault, kidnapping, fleeing and eluding and possession of a firearm, in addition to the original traffic violation charges, police said, though charges had not been finalized as of Thursday afternoon.

The men are from Massachusetts and have been identified as gang members, police said. Two handguns that had been thrown from the vehicle have been recovered, police said.

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