June 4 (UPI) — A Georgia cop has been fired after knocking down a suspect with his patrol car during a chase, officials announced on Saturday.
Officer Taylor Saulters, of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, was chasing Timothy Patmon, whom police were attempting to arrest on a felony probation warrant. Patmon was running from police on foot and Saulters attempted to block Patmon’s path as his partner, Officer Hunter Blackmon, chased the suspect on foot. But Saulters failed to block Patmon’s path and, instead, hit a curb and flattened his front tire.
Saulters hit the gas, and dashcam video shows him driving right into Patmon, who gets knocked down face-first to the ground.
Patmon was treated for injuries before he was turned over to the Clarke County Jail on charges of violating his probation and obstructing a law enforcement officer.
And Saulters lost his job.
“Athens police Chief Scott Freeman initially placed Saulters on administrative leave, initiated an internal affairs investigation, and requested that the Georgia State Patrol and Georgia Bureau of Investigation conduct independent investigations of the incident,” the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said in a statement. “After reviewing the officers’ body camera footage, and all the other facts and circumstances of this case, Chief Scott Freeman terminated the employment of Officer Taylor Saulters.”
According to WSB-TV, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department doesn’t believe Saulters intentionally hit Patmon, but was negligent in his actions.
