Washington police sergeant dragged by car trying to stop shoplifters

GIG HARBOR, Wash. (KABC) -- A police sergeant in Washington state survived a terrifying ordeal after being dragged by a car while trying to arrest shoplifting suspects.

The incident occurred at a Target in Gig Harbor on Friday. Sgt. Fred Douglas with the Gig Harbor Police Department was shopping during a break when he heard the call.

"The call comes out over the radio clear as day and I hear, 'Shoplift in progress with a weapon at Target,' and so I dropped my stuff and just started running," Douglas said.

The suspects, brothers Adam and Jerry Herdt, reportedly loaded up TVs and other electronics into a shopping cart and took it out to the parking lot. When employees tried to pursue them, the suspects allegedly threatened them with a knife and a gun.

When Douglas confronted the two men, he said one suspect quickly surrendered but the other man got into the driver's seat of the getaway car and tried to pull away while Douglas held onto the car.

"For a second there, I was like 'How is this going to end?' because I was helpless at that point," Douglas described. "I was just hanging on for the ride."

The suspect put the car in reverse and floored it, backing into a parked SUV. Another officer rushed in to help and used a Taser to subdue the suspect.

Both suspects were arrested. They pleaded not guilty on Monday to theft, robbery and assault on an officer.

Fortunately, Douglas was not seriously hurt.

ABC News contributed to this report.