A Georgia police officer has been fired after an investigation found that he had intentionally hit a fleeing suspect with his car.
Officer Taylor Saulters of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department was initially suspended, but eventually, let go this weekend following an independent investigation.
In video footage, Saulters can be seen driving after a suspect, identified as Timmy Patmon, fleeing on foot. He eventually hits Patmon with the front of his police car.
The department posted a video on Facebook showing the moment when the police car strikes Patmon.
“During the course of the foot chase, Saulters attempted to block Patmon’s path of escape on two occasions with his patrol car. During Saulter’s first attempt to block Patmon, Saulters struck a curb and flattened his driver’s side front tire,” notes the statement published alongside the video. “On Saulter’s second attempt to block Patmon’s path with his patrol car, and 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.”
Patmon was taken to the hospital by ambulance, but only suffered minor injuries, police say. He was wanted on a felony probation warrant and taken into custody after being released from the hospital.
“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,” the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said in a statement.
Now the Georgia Bureau of Investigation will determine whether Saulters will face criminal charges, ABC News reports.