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LI MAN FACES 25 YEARS FOR DRAGGING COP

A Long Island man faces up to 25 years in prison after being convicted of dragging and seriously injuring an NYPD sergeant with his car as he tried to flee a car stop, authorities said today.

A Queens jury deliberated less than a day before declaring Walter Hurdle, 53, of Valley Stream, guilty on assault and reckless endangerment charges for speeding off with Sgt. John Pagnotta stuck inside the passenger door of his 2001 GMC Denali.

Pagnotta had pulled Hurdle over at 122nd Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard in January 2007 after seeing Hurdle rolling an object as he sat in the driver’s seat.

During the investigation, Pagnotta ordered Hurdle out of the SUV, but Hurdle zipped off with the sergeant stuck in the open door.

Hurdle first bounced Pagnotta off his police car and then dragged him another 15 to 30 feet down the road. Pagnotta was thrown free into oncoming traffic and came within a foot of being run over by another motorist.

He suffered a broken pelvis, several broken ribs, a fractured backbone and a dislocated shoulder.

Hurdle’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 8.