Temple Police Officer Dragged by Fleeing Car

A Temple police officer and a man who may have been impersonating an officer were in the hospital Saturday after a dangerous confrontation.

The injured officer responded to a call from the Super 8 Motel located at Midway Dr and South General Bruce at 4:10 AM.

A clerk said a man had entered the motel and introduced himself as a police officer. The man displayed a badge and demanded the room number of a guest.

When the clerk refused to give the man any information, the man said he would obtain a warrant and left.

The responding officer located the suspicious man's vehicle at a Valero gas station across the highway and pulled up behind it, flashing his red and blue lights. The suspect's vehicle pulled to the back of the store and stopped, and the suspect opened the driver door.

When the officer approached the door, the suspect - later identified as 32-year-old Kristian Jesse Culver - sped away, trapping the officer in the vehicle with him.

The suspect made a hard left turn and accelerated over the curb and into a ditch on Charter Oaks Drive, causing both himself and the officer to fall out of the vehicle.

When other officers arrived, they found the responding officer lying on the ground in pain and saw the suspect fleeing. The suspect's vehicle coasted into the intersection of Charter Oaks and Kegley Drive before coming to a stop beside a set of railroad tracks.

The suspect was captured, and he and the injured officer were transported to Baylor Scott & White Hospital. The officer suffered an unspecified back injury, while the suspect reportedly suffered a broken arm.

The suspect was under guard at Baylor Scott & White Saturday afternoon pending transfer to the Bell County Jail.