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 FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – A Pembroke Pines police officer who was dragged by a car that reached speeds of 60 mph was afraid of what would happen if he let go. 
 
 With his arms and legs bandaged, Officer Jon Cusack, a 19-year veteran, smiled and give a “thumbs up” as he was taken from the hospital in a wheelchair to a waiting vehicle. Cusack got out of the wheelchair and walked to the vehicle and when he was asked by CBS4’s Peter D’Oench how he was doing, he said, “I am doing well.” 
 
 Police spokesman and captain Al Xiques said Cusack would need to take some time off before returning to work on road patrol. 
 
 “The officer is in good spirits after surviving this incident and is glad to go home with his family,” said Xiques, who smiled when he asked about the applause that Cusack received at the hospital from friends and family and supporters and police. Cusack went home with a motorcycle police escort. 
 
 “It’s a wonderful feeling to see people and police and family come together at this time of need,” said Xiques. “Officer Cusack is a hero. He tried to save someone’s life and in the process almost lost his own.” 
 
 “He was clinging on to the car because he was in fear for his life,” said Xiques. “Fortunately he survived which is a testament to his training and experience and his knowledge as a police officer and As A training officer.” 
 
 Jeff Marano, The President of the Broward Police Benevolent Association which represents Pembroke Pines police, told D’Oench, “It is unbelievable that he is alive today and that he survived because his injuries could have been a lot more severe.” 
 
 “He was just in fear for his life,” said Marano. “All he could think of was getting home to see his family. I am concerned because attacks on law enforcement are unprecedented and scary for people who are just trying to go to work. Just think of what happened yesterday. He probably thought it was going to be a normal day at work and then he was pulled right out of his boots and his clothing was left on the highway.” 
 
 Tuesday morning Officer Cusack was sent to check out a report of a drug overdose at Century Village on Pines Boulevard. 
 
 When he arrived, he found two people unconscious inside a car along with drug paraphernalia. 
 
 Video from Cusack’s body cam shows him opening the driver’s side door and waking the man in the driver’s seat. The driver, identified as Thomas Cabrera, put the car in gear. When Cusack reached in to try and stop him Cabrera accelerated, dragging the officer along. 
 
 “The officer was concerned that if he let go he was gonna be run over by the back tires as well as the injuries he would suffer would be more severe,” said police Captain Al Xiques. 
 
 Cabrera reportedly tried to ram several objects to knock Cusack off the car. Cusack hung on until Cabrera slowed just enough to where he felt it would be safe to let go. 
 
 Cabrera fled north on I-75 and then east on I-595, weaving in and out of traffic as an increasing number of police officers, from several agencies, closed in on him. Just west of I-95 police boxed him in and took him into custody. They also detained his female passenger. She was not charged. 
 
 Police said his car reached speeds of up to 105 miles per hour. 
 
 Cabrera has been charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and fleeing/eluding a law enforcement officer. 
 
 Cusack was taken to the hospital where he was treated for road rash and several other injuries, none were life-threatening. He was released on Wednesday. 
 
 Court and prison records show that Cabrera was in prison a few years ago for grand theft. Pembroke Pines police said Cabrera admitted to doing cocaine and heroin before Officer Cusack arrived. He also reportedly admitted trying to flee with the officer on the car. The reason Cabrera said he did it, according to police, was because he didn’t want to go to jail. 
 
 Cabrera was going to have a court appearance on Wednesday but it was delayed. 

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 A Pembroke Pines police officer was dragged for a half-mile through the streets of Century Village Tuesday after he reached into a car to stop a suspected drugged driver from fleeing and possibly endangering others on the road, authorities said. 
 
 Officer Jon Cusack held on for his life as the driver -- with his fiance also in the car -- sped through the retirement community, police said. 
 
 Cusack underwent surgery for “significant road rashes” on his arms and legs, his department said. When he was released Wednesday afternoon from Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, he waved a bandaged arm at reporters and photographers who had hoped for an interview. 
 
 The police officer did not make any comments. 
 
 RAW VIDEO: A Pembroke Pines police officer was dragged for a half-mile through the streets of Century Village Tuesday after he reached into a car to stop a suspected drugged driver from fleeing. (Video courtesy Pembroke Pines police) RAW VIDEO: A Pembroke Pines police officer was dragged for a half-mile through the streets of Century Village Tuesday after he reached into a car to stop a suspected drugged driver from fleeing. (Video courtesy Pembroke Pines police) SEE MORE VIDEOS 
 
 “Officer Jon Cusack is in good spirits and is recovering well post-surgery,” Pembroke Pines Police spokeswoman Amanda Conwell said in an email Wednesday. 
 
 Cusack had been investigating a possible overdose of a man and woman who were inside a black Honda sedan parked on Southwest 125th Avenue. The pair were asleep or unconscious, and there was a baggie with an unknown substance that could be seen in the car, said Pembroke Pines Police Capt. Al Xiques. 
 
 Cusack reached inside the Honda, but driver Thomas Cabrera, 38, gunned the engine and took off, Xiques said. 
 
 Broward Sheriff's Office Thomas Cabrera, 38 Thomas Cabrera, 38 (Broward Sheriff's Office) 
 
 As the Honda approached the community’s gate at Pines Boulevard and Southwest 129th Avenue, Cusack decided it was the best place for him to let go, Xiques said. Surveillance video released by police showed the Honda was being followed by traffic as the officer fell to the pavement. He was able to roll out of the path of oncoming cars. 
 
 The agency also released Cusack’s body cam footage that shows the initial encounter with Cabrera. 
 
 Cusack’s injuries were serious but not life-threatening. 
 
 “The irony is that officers all the time respond to save the life of a perfect stranger,” Xiques said. “The outcome was that the officer almost ended up losing his life.” 
 
 Pembroke Pines Police spokeswoman said Officer Jon Cusack is in good spirits and is recovering well post-surgery after being relased from Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood on Wednesday. The Pembroke Pines police officer was dragged for a half-mile through the streets of Century Village Tuesday after he reached into a car to stop a suspected drugged driver from fleeing and possibly endangering others on the road, authorities said. Pembroke Pines Police spokeswoman said Officer Jon Cusack is in good spirits and is recovering well post-surgery after being relased from Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood on Wednesday. The Pembroke Pines police officer was dragged for a half-mile through the streets of Century Village Tuesday after he reached into a car to stop a suspected drugged driver from fleeing and possibly endangering others on the road, authorities said. SEE MORE VIDEOS 
 
 Cabrera later admitted to police that he tried to pry Cusack’s fingers from the door frame, the arrest report said. Cabrera, who lives in Century Village, intentionally drove toward a Pembroke Pines Fire-Rescue ambulance that was called to treat a possible overdose patient, but the ambulance driver was able to avoid a crash, police said. 
 
 Cabrera was arrested on charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer; fleeing and eluding; driving with a suspended license and reckless driving. He admitted using cocaine and heroin before Cusack arrived at his parked car, the arrest report said. He was being held in a Broward County jail on Wednesday 
 
 Police say after Cusack let go of the Honda, Cabrera led squad cars on a 20-mile chase in Broward County. 
 
 Pembroke Pines Police, courtesy Pembroke Pines Police Officer Jon Cusack Pembroke Pines Police Officer Jon Cusack (Pembroke Pines Police, courtesy) 
 
 The Honda drove west along Pines Boulevard in the eastbound lanes before heading north on Interstate 75 and then east, along Interstate 595. In rush hour traffic, the Honda reached speeds of approximately 105 mph, sometimes while driving along the shoulder. It was followed through several cities by police officers from several departments and a helicopter from the Broward Sheriff’s Office. 
 
 Shortly after 9:05 a.m. near the exit to State Road 7/U.S. 441 in Davie, the Honda was slowed by commuter traffic and was boxed in b.police. Officers approached the car with guns drawn, pulled Cabrera out and put him in handcuffs. Police did not identify the woman riding with him, who was not arrested or charged with any offense. 
 
 There were syringes and other drug-related items on the driver’s seat, according to the report. The investigation is continuing, Xiques said. 
 
 Cusack has been with Pembroke Pines Police for 19 years. He is assigned to road patrol as a field training officer and is a member of the department’s crisis response team.
– If Florida police officer Jon Cusack thought his visit to a retirement community to check on an unconscious couple in a car would be relatively uneventful Tuesday, he thought wrong. The visit would end only after Cusack was dragged by a speeding car for about a half-mile, according to police in Pembroke Pines. Cusack’s body camera captured part of the scene before it was dislodged: The officer is seen putting on protective gloves as he speaks with a man and woman found in a car with a "small, clear plastic baggie with an unknown substance in plain view," according to police. But as the man begins to drive away, Cusack gets hung up in the door frame. Police say he was then dragged as the driver hit 60mph, made "several sharp maneuvers," and attempted to hit responding emergency vehicles, report CBS Miami and the Miami Herald. Police say Cusack feared he'd be run over if he let go of the vehicle but finally released his grip when the car slowed. Cusack—whose "uniform and shoes were shredded" according to a police report—was then taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery for "significant road rashes," per the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Meanwhile, authorities say Thomas Cabrera, 38, reached speeds of 105mph as he led police on a 20-mile chase. He was arrested after his vehicle was impeded by traffic. He later admitted to using heroin and cocaine before encountering Cusack and said he fled because he didn't want to go to jail, according to police. He's charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, felony fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, and driving with a suspended license. Cusack, who left the hospital Wednesday, says he's "doing well."