A shocking video has been released which shows the moment a US police officer is dragged along by a car after the suspect he was speaking to suddenly drives off.

In footage captured on the police officer's body camera, the officer, who had been called out to a petrol station in Savannah, Georgia, over a reported shoplifting, asks 23-year-old Brandon Christopher Adams to take his keys out of the ignition and step out of the car. Adams repeatedly refuses, saying he needs to call his brother.

When the officer then reaches in to take the keys out himself, Adams suddenly drives away, with the officer's arm pinned between the seat and seat belt of the car. The officer is dragged along for a few metres before he eventually manages to wriggle free from the vehicle, crashing to the ground.

Luckily the officer escaped with only minor injuries. Adams later that day turned himself into the police without incident.

More police videos