Source: Mihajlo Maricic / EyeEm / Getty
A white Georgia police officer was let go from his position after video of him running over a Black suspect with his cruiser surfaced. Officer Taylor Saulters of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department hit fleeing suspect Timmy Patmon who was also threatened with a taser gun.
Local outlet Flagpole.com reports:
Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Scott Freeman fired an officer Sunday who, according to witnesses and video footage, hit a fleeing suspect with his car on Friday.
An initial news release from ACCPD said that officers Taylor Saulters and Hunter Blackmon were patroling the area of Vine Street and Nellie B Avenue Friday evening when Blackmon spotted Timmy Patmon, whom Blackmon believed had a felony warrant out for his arrest.
When the officers made contact with Patmon, he ran. Blackmon chased him on foot while Saulters pursued him in his police car.
The Saturday news released stated that Saulters tried to block Patmon’s path by driving the car up onto the sidewalk and blew a tire. It then stated that “during the maneuvering of the patrol car, Patmon impacted the right front quarter panel of Saulters’ car as Saulters was attempting to accelerate past Patmon.”
Police said that Blackmon handcuffed Patmon, and that Saulters drew his Taser when Patmon resisted being cuffed, at which point Patmon stopped resisting.
Saulters was in his first year with ACCPD according to reports. Patmon was treated for minor bruises at a local hospital before being transported to Clarke County Jail.
WARNING: video of the incident can be viewed below. Please use caution as the images within may be disturbing to some.
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Photo: Getty
