Metro Atlanta

Two Marietta cops honored by Gov. Deal for saving man from burning car

(Left to right) Marietta police Maj. Steve Kish, Chief Dan Flynn, Gov. Nathan Deal, officer Jayson Duncan and officer Enrique Mallen. Deal awarded the Marietta police officers Duncan and Mallen with the 2016 Governor’s Public Safety Award.
(Left to right) Marietta police Maj. Steve Kish, Chief Dan Flynn, Gov. Nathan Deal, officer Jayson Duncan and officer Enrique Mallen. Deal awarded the Marietta police officers Duncan and Mallen with the 2016 Governor’s Public Safety Award.
By Ben Brasch
Dec 14, 2016

Two Marietta police officers tried to stop a vehicle early one May day, but it sped off only for them to later find it on fire with the driver still inside.

They yanked the man out of the vehicle, which by that time was engulfed in flames.

And now they've been honored by the Governor.

Gov. Nathan Deal rewarded officers Jayson Duncan and Enrique Mallen with the 2016 Governor's Safety Award, the Marietta Police Department announced Tuesday.

On May 7 about 2:30 a.m., the officers saw a suspicious vehicle driving around Roosevelt Circle. They drove up behind it and found that the tag did not match the vehicle's make and model.

They tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver sped off south on I-75.

The officers didn't chase the driver and instead exited off the interstate onto South Marietta Parkway. That's when they noticed the vehicle had gotten into an accident with a tractor trailer and was on fire.

Officers got the driver out even though he was "actively resisting," and arrested him.

"These two officers represent a high standard to which MPD holds itself to," the agency said.

About the Author

Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.

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