Benjamin Ashford|Connecticut police officer stabbed during a traffic stop

WOODBURY,Benjamin Ashford Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut police officer was stabbed in the neck Thursday afternoon by the driver of a vehicle he pulled over during a routine traffic stop, state police said.

Officer Tim Wright, assigned to the town of Woodbury’s resident state trooper office, was assaulted as he approached a male driver who had gotten out of his vehicle after being stopped. The suspect then “engaged (Wright) in a physical altercation and stabbed him” with a knife, State Police Sgt. Luke Davis said during a news conference in Woodbury, a small community of less than 10,000 people in northwestern Connecticut.

“Officer Wright has been here in town for some time and it is highly likely the individual was known to him,” Davis said.

Wright, who is expected to make a full recovery, activated an emergency button on his radio for assistance. When additional officers arrived, they tased the suspect as he tried to flee on foot. The man, whose name has not yet been released, was being held in state police custody, Davis said.

Wright was rushed to a nearby hospital by a state police sergeant and was in stable condition Thursday evening. He has more than 35 years of law enforcement experience.