A West Tisbury man allegedly tried to run down an Edgartown detective Saturday as the plainclothes officer attempted to pull him over on a tip that the driver was delivering illegal drugs.

Asa W. French, 27, was arraigned March 4 in Dukes County Superior Court on suspicion of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. French was then released on $750 bail pending his pretrial hearing.

According to the statement of facts from the Detective Michael Snowden of the Edgartown Police Department:

On March 2, 2013, I, Detective Michael Snowden received a call from a reliable confidential source who informed me that Asa French would be delivering a quantity of heroin and illegal prescription pills to a customer in the area of Skiff Ave, Tisbury, MA. The CS stated that French would be operating a white Jeep Cherokee box style vehicle.

After receiving this information, I arrived in the area of Skiff Ave in a personal vehicle. Sgt. Stone MSP was also in the area at this time.

As I was traveling on Davis Street, a street off of Skiff Ave., I observed French operating a white Jeep Cherokee traveling behind me.

At this time I pulled off to the side of the road exited my vehicle with my police badge displayed around my neck, identifying myself as a police officer, and instructed French to stop his vehicle. At this time French stopped briefly and made eye contact with me.

As I began to walk in front of French’s vehicle to approach the driver’s side, French slammed on the gas; this casing his tires to spin on the tar (approximately 72 feet of skid marks).

In an attempt to avoid being hit by French’s vehicle, I pushed my body off of his hood as he came at me at a high rate of speed. I then called it into the communication center and requested a GBC for a stop and arrest of French for the listed charges.

French was located about an hour later at his residence on Tiasquam Road in West Tisbury and arrested on suspicion of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the Jeep, Snowden wrote.

"I suffered a minor red mark on my left elbow," the detective wrote.

French is scheduled for a pretrial hearing March 18. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in state prison.

Arrest and arraignment information does not indicate a conviction. For more police news on and off the Vineyard, please see our Police & Fire section, available in the News tab above or by clicking here.

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