Cop used his car to stop a suspect from escaping, video shows. Now he's out of a job, Georgia police say

A police officer in pursuit of a suspect running away on foot used his patrol car to stop the man — by hitting him with the vehicle.

In the aftermath of Friday's incident, the Athens-Clarke County (Ga.) police officer was fired for his actions.

Taylor Saulters, the police officer driving the car, was fired from the police department by Chief Scott Freeman on Saturday, cbs.46.com reported.

"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, according to onlineathens.com.

The incident, captured on body cam footage, shows that Saulters hit more than Timmy Patmon — the suspect who was trying to escape on foot.

Saulters, who was riding with Officer Hunter Blackmon, was in pursuit of Patmon who was wanted on outstanding felony warrants, wsoctv.com reported.

While Blackmon chased Patmon on foot, the police footage shows Saulters attempted to block him with the patrol car. His first attempt failed, as Patmon eluded the car when Saulters turned to the left.

Instead of hitting Patmon, the patrol car struck the curb, causing a flat tire, and a stop sign, according to cbs.46.com.

Undeterred, Saulters maneuvered the vehicle back on to the road and toward Patmon. Saulters swerved the car toward the 23-year-old suspect again, this time hitting him from behind.

The video shows that the impact of the collision caused Patmon to roll up the hood of the car and bounce off the windshield before falling to the pavement.

Blackmon soon catches up, and as he is restraining Patmon, who has his face on the road, Saulters threatens to use a stun gun on the suspect who was resisting attempts to be put in handcuffs, abcnews.go.com reported.

"Give us your hands now, or you're gonna get Tased," Saulters says on the body cam footage, while a crowd of bystanders could be heard voicing displeasure in the background.

“I got him with my car, that’s what they’re yelling about,” Saulters says to another officer arriving on the scene.

Patmon was taken to an area hospital for treatment on scrapes and bruises he suffered in the incident, before being taken to jail on charges of violating his probation and obstructing a law enforcement officer, according to cbs.46.com.

Saulters drove away without further incident, in spite of some agitated people in the crowd, leaving in a patrol car with one flat tire. He was placed on administrative leave Friday, before ultimately being fired.

“This was not the kind of conduct we would expect from an Athens-Clarke County police officer,” police spokesman Epifanio Rodriguez told onlineathens.com, saying Saulters was fired for violating departmental policies and procedures.

It was an appropriate response from the perspective of Patmon's mother.

"Whoever hit my son should be punished for it. It’s wrong. It’s police brutality, it sure is. It’s wrong” Tammy LaShay Brown Patmon said, according to wsbtv.com, adding she feared the worst when she saw her son after he was hit by the patrol car. “I thought my son was dead.”

The police department said it does not believe Saulter's actions were intentional but rather negligent, a spokesperson said, wsoctv.com reported.

In spite of that, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is conducting its own review of the incident to determine if Saulters should face criminal charges, onlineathens.com reported.

Saulters was a rookie officer. He is the son of Athens police Capt. Jerry Saulters, who is in charge of the criminal investigative division, wsbtv.com reported.

This story was originally published June 4, 2018 at 7:29 AM with the headline "Cop used his car to stop a suspect from escaping, video shows. Now he's out of a job, Georgia police say."