A police officer in Tennessee was run over and another was injured after a man fled the officers during a traffic stop on Sunday.
Franklin Police Officer Dustyn Stevens’ legs got caught under the vehicle as the suspect sped away on I-65, south of Nashville, according to authorities. The suspect, 26-year-old Roy Nicholson, was later apprehended outside of a Walmart in Franklin.
“In this dramatic dash-cam video, you see Nicholson break away from the officer, get back into his car where a firearm was present, and then drag Officer Dustyn Stevens and an assisting Officer, Matt Lamarr, down the Interstate, before running over Officer Stevens during his getaway,” a press release stated.
The press release was accompanied by dash-cam footage of the incident.
Stevens asked Nicholson to get out of his vehicle after he saw a gun and smelled marijuana, according to the Franklin Police Department. When Nicholson stepped outside, he resisted the officer and eventually got back into his car with Stevens and Lamarr trying to apprehend him.
Bystanders who witnessed Nicholson escape the officers followed him and alerted authorities to his location. More officers responded and found him outside a Franklin Walmart, where he was arrested.
Stevens, a four-year veteran of the Franklin Police Department, was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. According to the press release, he was treated for his injuries and released. Lamarr, the other officer on the scene, did require hospital care.
Nicholson has been charged with “two counts of aggravated assault against a first responder and felony evading,” Franklin Police said. His bail was set to $40,000, and he is scheduled to appear in court on June 9.
“Franklin Police say it is amazing that no one was more seriously injured, and that what we see in this video clearly shows the importance of drivers adhering to Tennessee’s Move Over Law,” the press release said.