A man faces felony charges after a traffic stop Wednesday in DeKalb County nearly turned deadly.
This is the second time in a week in which a local driver was charged with dragging a police officer.
RELATED: A Snellville police sergeant was nearly run over Saturday after a driver took off amid questioning about allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old girl in a park.
Tyrone Marvail Chapman, 38, was asleep at the wheel when Brookhaven police officer Tommy Lefever found him, Maj. Brandon Gurley, a spokesman for Brookhaven police, said.
Lefever noticed a vehicle stopped in the intersection on Peachtree Road at Dresden Drive about 3:30 a.m., with the driver hunched over the steering wheel. The officer was able to wake the driver to speak to him.
Initially, the driver gave a fake name and date of birth, Gurley said. After Lefever asked Chapman for identification, the situation escalated quickly.
Brookhaven Police Chief Gary Yandura told Channel 2 Action News the officer saw Chapman reach for the shifter and reached in to stop him from driving off. But Lefever’s hand got caught and, when Chapman sped off, he dragged Lefever with him.
When Lefever couldn’t keep up with the car’s speed, he picked up his feet and made his body into a ball, according to a police report.
“I looked at the driver as we continued to pick up speed and we made eye contact,” Lefever said in the police report. “I said, ‘You’re going to kill me’ as I tried to climb in the window.”
Chapman looked back at the officer and said, “I don’t want to kill you,” before slamming on his brakes, Gurley said.
Though Chapman later apologized and thanked Lefever for not shooting him, he faces felony charges whereas he might have only been charged with minor traffic offenses, such as driving without a license.
Lefever was not seriously hurt.
“We are very thankful that Officer Lefever was not injured in this incident,” Yandura said. “This situation could have ended very badly for our officer and the suspect.”
Chapman was in the DeKalb County Jail on Wednesday afternoon, charged with felony aggravated assault, attempting to flee from an officer, obstruction and driving while a license was suspended or revoked. Jail records show Chapman was charged with driving without a license twice in 2010.
His bond was listed as $1,000.
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