ATLANTA — New dashcam video shows Georgia State Patrol troopers rushing to help a veteran strapped with exploding fireworks as a gasoline fueled fire burned on the steps of the state Capitol.
Those troopers told Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne that they were thankful to be in the right place at the right time.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I got to get up here and I got to get this guy out of the fire.’ So I quickly jumped up out of my patrol car and went to the state-issued fire extinguisher,” Trooper 1st Class Cantrell Cooley told Winne. “I just knew that this man here needed more help than if I got hit by a firework. It was something that was small compared to this man’s body fully engulfed.”
[PHOTOS: Veteran set himself on fire in front of State Capitol]
Cooley said he was a firefighter in his hometown of Valdosta before he joined the Georgia State Patrol seven years ago.
“It’s what God created me for, to help people,” Cooley said.
Cooley said he was up from the Thomasville GSP post to pick up his new patrol car, but the pickup got delayed about an hour, so he headed to the Capitol to pick up friend for lunch.
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“I feel like God had me in the right place at the right time,” Cooley told Winne.
Capitol police Officer James Walker said he was in his car on the north side of the Capitol when he heard explosions, then saw smoke.
“As I made a left turn onto Washington, I saw a man that ... was still in flames and a fire on the steps,” Walker said.
Walker said he saw Cooley using his extinguisher on the burning man, but it ran out so he grabbed his own and used it.
“My heart just goes out to him,” Walker said.
Walker told Winne that an Atlanta Fire Rescue unit happened by and jumped into action, too. Then Walker rode in the ambulance with the man who had set himself ablaze, later identified as John Michael Watts, 58.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Winne said to Cooley.
“No sir. That’s what I feel being in law enforcement and this career is all about -- is being selfless,” Cooley said.
As of Wednesday evening, Watts remained in critical condition, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
“I was at Grady for five hours pretty much just sitting with the doctors and just praying over him and hoping he was gone be alright,” Cooley said.
“We are very proud of them. They sprung into action without worrying about safety for themselves,” Walker said.
Cox Media Group
