10/04/15 Jasper, GA – Man Wrong Way On Highway – Crashes – Steals Jasper Patrol Car – Drags Officer – Shuts Door On Officer’s Arm – Officer Injured – Chase – Crash

October 4, 2015

wsbtv.com

A Jasper police officer is recovering after police say a man stole his patrol car and dragged him for several feet.

“This is the first time we’ve ever had a police car stolen,” Sgt. Matt Dawkins with Jasper Police Department said.

It was just after midnight on Oct. 4 when someone called 911 and reported a Ford Focus driving the wrong direction on Highway 515 in Cherokee County.

“We’re kind of lucky with the fact that it happened so early in the morning, there’s not that many people on the road,” Dawkins said.

Two officers found the stolen car smashed into a guardrail but no one was in it. They said the windshield was damaged, and it looked like the driver may have been injured, so they walked away from their cruisers and started looking for him.

That’s when police say the suspect, Troy Neyland, jumped into the police car.

One officer says Neyland tried to run him over but he jumped out of the way.

The other officer tried to force the suspect out of the car.

“The suspect shut the door on his right arm, drug him approximately 90 feet,” Dawkins said.

That officer got up, and continued the chase.

Police eventually used a pursuit tactic to end the chase. They say the suspect locked himself in the car, so they tried to get in through the window.

They finally got him out and arrested him.

“If it had been four hours later we could’ve had a huge problem as far as multiple injuries, multiple cars running off the road,” Dawkins said.

The officer who was dragged for several feet suffered a fractured collar bone, cuts and bruises and an injured shoulder.

Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes learned there were several weapons in the stolen police car.