By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

An Alabaster man was charged with attempted murder of a Birmingham police officer after law enforcement officials said the man allegedly dragged the officer with his car during a Jan. 6 incident.

The Birmingham Police Department arrested 48-year-old Alabaster resident Mark Anthony Nelson and charged him with one count of attempted murder.

The arrest came after an officer with the Birmingham Police Department’s North Precinct performed a traffic stop on Nelson at about 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 6. As the officer approached Nelson’s vehicle, the officer ordered the suspect to turn off his vehicle.

“The suspect refused, and as the officer attempted to remove the suspect’s keys from the vehicle, the suspect began to drive off,” read a Birmingham Police Department press release. “As the suspect drove off, the officer was pulled along the side of the suspect’s vehicle until he fell to the ground.”

After the incident, the officer was transported to the hospital to be treated for “serious injuries sustained during the incident,” according to Birmingham police. The officer’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Nelson currently is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on a $60,000 bond.