JACKSON TOWNSHIP, Mahoning County, Ohio - Authorities have arrested a man suspected of dragging a Jackson Township police officer with his car.

Members of the Akron and Youngstown Divisions of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, the Ravenna Police Department and the Portage County Drug Unit arrested 23-year-old Nicholas Roman on Friday.

Members of the task force found Roman on the 300 block of East Highland Road in Ravenna.

Investigators say Roman was hiding in a bathtub and fought with officers.

Roman will be held in the Portage County jail on previous warrants until he can be transferred to the Mahoning County Jail to face the charges of attempted murder and felonious assault against the North Jackson Police Officer.

Police began searching for Roman after the incident along Route 45 near Chuck's Greenhouses, according to Jackson Township Police Chief Greg Taillon. 

According to Taillon, the officer was making a routine traffic stop because Roman did not have a visible license plate. During the stop, Roman grabbed onto the officer and took off.

Taillon said the suspect's car went into the other lane to try and sideswipe another vehicle to get the officer off.

"As oncoming traffic was coming, the driver moved over to the side of the road, so the oncoming car could take him off the car," Taillon said. "When there were no cars coming, the driver would go over towards mailboxes to try to knock him off of the vehicle."

The officer was dragged down the road; he was able to free himself when the car slowed down. 

Officials later found the car Roman was driving in Portage County, but he had already fled, police said. 

The officer, Tyler Vasko, has since been released from the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He suffered from road rash and abrasions. 


Roman was in the car with another male and his girlfriend at the time of the incident, according to police. Roman is facing three felony charges from this incident, including attempted murder, felonious assault and failure to comply with police. Roman also has had previous burglary and drug charges, according to officials. 

"You hear it every day about how dangerous a police officer's job can be, and you never know whether you're going to go home at the end of your shift," Taillon said. "This is just an indication that shows that really is the case."