The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association is criticizing the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for declining to charge a man with assault after officials said he dragged a Maple Grove officer with his vehicle.

In November, 40-year-old Daniel Rudolph was stopped by Maple Grove police for allegedly driving with tinted windows and not using a turn signal.

Dashcam video shows Rudolph rushing away from two officers, jumping back into his car and then dragging one of the officers who was trying to prevent him from driving away.

In a criminal complaint, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Rudolph dragged the officer for 40 yards, injuring the officer who needed treatment at a local hospital. Rudolph was charged with two felonies. One for interfering with an officer and the other for fleeing police in a vehicle.

Imran Ali, general counsel for the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he believes there is enough evidence to charge Rudolph with a more serious felony of second-degree assault.

“Make no mistake. This officer could have died. This is half a football field. 40 yards, being dragged,” said Ali. “This was a case where an officer was effectuating a lawful, legal process and was assaulted as a result of it.”

Ali told KSTP that the decision by the HCAO affects officer morale.

“I’ve had officers reach out and they’re frustrated. They’re frustrated because they put their lives on the line,” said Ali.

A spokesperson for the HCAO issued the following statement:

“We are grateful the officer in this case escaped the incident with minor injuries. We fully recognize and appreciate the potential danger of the defendant’s actions and that is why we charged him with two felonies for his conduct. As any prosecutor or defense attorney understands, we need evidence to support charges and prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. Unfortunately we are unable to rely on false characterizations of the facts by individuals from interest groups who don’t have access to all the evidence in the case. The evidence here is the defendant fled from officers in a motor vehicle and caused injuries while interfering with the officer’s duties. And we charged him with the most serious charges we were ethically able to charge based on the evidence.”