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Officer struck, dragged outside Burlco school; 2 arrested

Suspects Brandon Belton and Bonnie Manning were arrested for allegedly dragging Sgt. Amaya Urtasun with a car outside Riverside Township Elementary School.

A police sergeant is recovering after being dragged by a car outside a Burlington County elementary school early Saturday. Two people are facing charges in connection with the alleged attack.

The incident touched off shortly after 1 a.m., as officers investigated a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in the lot of Riverside Township Elementary School, township police said in a news release.

Officers made contact with two occupants – a man in the driver's seat later identified as Brandon Belton, 23, and a front passenger identified as Bonnie Manning, 39, according to investigators.

Police said Belton became uncooperative and refused to show officers his hands, instead shifting the vehicle into drive and accelerating.

He allegedly struck the initial officer on scene, Sgt. Amaya Urtasun, who was standing at the driver's side door.

Police said Urtasun was dragged 30 to 40 feet before the vehicle swerved, throwing her into a parked car and sending her to the ground.

The vehicle then slammed head-on into an unoccupied Riverside Township Police patrol vehicle that was parked in the driveway of the lot's exit before coming to a stop.

Both Belton and Manning were removed from the car and taken into custody without incident. Officers recovered an undisclosed amount of suspected marijuana that was in plain view inside the vehicle, police said.

Urtasun, a 16-year veteran of the Riverside Township Police Department, was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden to be treated for knee and abdominal injuries.

Belton, of Willingboro, and Manning, of Riverside, are each facing charges of trespassing, obstructing the administration of law, resisting arrest, aggravated assault on a police officer, criminal attempted manslaughter, assault by auto and narcotics offenses, police said.

Both suspects were imprisoned in the Burlington County Jail pending court appearances.