The man accused of driving into a barricaded parking lot near the East Lake Golf Club and dragging a state trooper along faces felony charges, the GBI said Monday.
Troopers stopped a gold Saturn, driven by Gerald Williams, around 7 p.m. when Williams was allegedly trying go into a barricaded area off Memorial Drive and Green Avenue, according to Capt. Paul Cosper with the Georgia State Patrol. Sunday was the the final day of the Tour Championship at the golf club, and Williams was not authorized to drive into the lot, investigators said.
"The trooper was advising him of that, Mr. Williams became irate," Cosper said. "The trooper tried to remove him from the car."
But instead of getting out of the car, Williams hit the gas with the car door open and the trooper inside the vehicle, Cosper said.
"Another trooper there was working with the first trooper witnessed this and discharged his weapon twice, in fear the first trooper was in danger," Cosper said.
Williams faces felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and obstruction, John Bankhead, spokesman for the GBI, told the AJC Monday. The state patrol asked the GBI to assist with the investigation into the incident, which is routine in trooper shootings, Bankhead said.
Williams was transported Sunday night to Grady Memorial Hospital with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries, Cosper said.
The trooper, whose name was not released, was not seriously injured.
"He was dragged a short piece," Cosper said. "He's a little shook up, but other than that, he's okay."
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