Rush to judgement.
Cell phone video was released showing a suspect being arrested, with claims that two officers strangled the suspect after hitting him with a car.
Now bodycam video has been released which shows what really happened.
The incident started on Friday, at around 7:30 p.m., when Officer Hunter Blackmon and Officer Taylor Saulters spotted a wanted fugitive, Timmy Patmon, on Vine Street and Nellie B Avenue, according to Athens-Clarke County PD.
When the officer attempted to make contact with Patmon, he fled from the officers.
Officer Blackmon chased Patmon on foot, while Officer Saulters attempted to block his escape by getting ahead of him with the patrol car.
Officer Saulters’ car jumped the sidewalk in order to block Patmon’s escape route. As the vehicle drove onto the sidewalk, it struck the curb which knocked the officer’s front-left tire off of the rim, immediately flattening it.
Patmon ran around the car, and Officer Saulters continued driving after him.
As Officer Saulters drove after Patmon, he drove into the oncoming lane of traffic to avoid a collision with Patmon while struggling to control his vehicle with the dislodged wheel. While trying to control his patrol car, the vehicle struck Patmon.
Patmon went to the ground and officers struggled to gain control of him while he resisted arrest. The officers were able to wrestle his hands behind his back without using any additional force.[…]
People on social media spread the video and false description and demanded accountability.
AJC reports that Patmon’s family said that the police ran him over, and that his mother thought he was dead after he was bumped by the car. The bodycam video disproves these claims.
“They were chasing him from behind. They didn’t have to run him over,” Patmon’s bother told WSB-TV.
Following public outcry demanding the termination of Officer Saulters, a department spokesman said that they don’t believe that Saulters intentionally hit Patmon, according to AJC. The department said that Officer Saulters was just attempting to accelerate past Patmon, while attempting to control a vehicle with a flat tire.
After local outrage over the incident, the Chief decided to immediately fire Officer Saulters, and called the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to seek potential criminal charges against the officer.
The chief said that even though the officer’s actions were unintentional, he believes that the officer was negligent.
The Officer Saulters had just recently joined the department after leaving the U.S. Army, and was still on probationary status, making it possible for him to be terminated without cause.
Now, the officer, who is the sole breadwinner of his family, has no way to support his wife and 10-month-old son. The Army veteran is being forced to pay for his own attorney to defend himself from criminal allegations.