ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — Conyers Police released new body camera video to Channel 2 Action News of a New Year’s Eve traffic stop that quickly escalated into a physical altercation.
Police say it began around 4 p.m. Dec. 31. A patrol officer who specializes in identifying impaired drivers stopped a vehicle along Irwin Bridge Road for a tinted tag cover and tail light violation.
“He suspected the driver was under the influence of some sort of narcotic, or stimulant. He asked him to step out of the vehicle. At that point, the suspect became agitated with the officer and became non-compliant,” Conyers Police Capt. Quantavis Garcia told Channel 2’s Tom Regan.
Garcia says the suspect, 55-year-old William Cornelius, refused the officer’s commands to stop reaching into his pockets and attempted to return to his SUV. After several warnings, the officer fired his Taser on the suspect.
The suspect yanked off the Taser wires and climbed back into this car. When the officer tried to pull the suspect out of vehicle, the suspect sped away, briefly dragging the officer, before he fell to the ground.
“The driver put the vehicle in drive, dragging the officer 35 to 40 feet along the roadway. At this point we don’t know why the driver fled the scene or became resistant and physical with our officer, ” said Capt. Garcia.
Other officers chased after the suspect, who veered in and out of traffic. They used a PIT manuever to push the rear of his vehicle to the side, causing it to crash into a wall on I-20.
Police arrested the driver. Both the injured suspect and officer were taken to the hospital.
“Our officer could have been killed that day, just based on him doing his job and keeping the roadway safe.” said Garcia.
The officer, who wished not to be identified, is a three-year veteran of the Conyers Police Department.
He is expected to return to patrol in several weeks. The suspect remains in Grady Memorial Hospital and faces numerous charges upon his discharge.
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