VILLA RICA, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has obtained exclusive video showing the moment a Villa Rica police officer opened fire as a driver hit the gas.
Daniel Daigle was hit twice, but survived.
Channel 2's Lauren Pozen spoke with the Villa Rica police chief on Friday night who said his officers did exactly the right thing.
Police said Daigle had just put air in his tires. As he saw police approach him, he tried to make a run for it and rammed his car into a power pole.
“I think with the suspect knowing he had warrants on him, drugs in the car and a gun in the car, he was just trying to get away,” Villa Rica police Chief Michael Mansour said.
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Police were initially called to the Easy Quick Shop off West Bankhead Highway early Thursday morning to respond to an alarm call.
In police body camera video obtained by Channel 2 Action News, you can see an officer doing just that.
That’s when Diagle caught the attention of officers. But when police took his ID and ran it through the system, Diagle made a run for it.
Authorities say officers shot Diagle. He initially got away but they eventually tracked him down to a house about 5 miles away.
Despite the tense encounter, no officers were hurt.
“When he was getting away, he was going directly at one of our officers and the other officer felt like that officer’s life was in danger and that is why he fired on him,” Mansour told Pozen.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Villa Rica police are still investigating.
Diagle is currently in the Carroll County Jail.
Cox Media Group
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