Georgia Man Blames Police for Crash, Explosion

[larrymeyer]

http://www.officer.com/online/articl...ion=1&id=40466

Georgia Man Blames Police for Crash, Explosion


Posted: Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Updated: March 5th, 2008 12:11 PM PDT

Story by wsbtv.com

POLK COUNTY, Ga. --

Derrick Williams told Channel 2 the pursuit and crash that left him with second and third degree burns never should have happened. But according to police reports, officials said Williams has no one to blame but himself.

Williams is badly burned and has a broken neck from when he crashed his car during a police pursuit. He said during a routine traffic stop last month, an Aragon police officer mistook some leftover tobacco inside a water bottle for marijuana. He does have a prior drug conviction.

The incident, Williams said, grew out of control to the point the officer hit him with OC spray -- something like pepper spray. That, Williams said, caused him to hit the accelerator. He crashed his car in a fireball almost a mile away.

"My ear has been burned and my face and I have some type of neck injury but I have to go to surgery tomorrow," Williams told Channel 2's Richard Elliot.

But the official police report and press release tell a different story. In them, Lt. M.D. Rook states that during the traffic stop, he spotted a clear plastic bag inside Williams' water bottle and believed it was marijuana.

Rook said Williams became combative and tried to destroy the evidence. That's when Rook said he used his OC spray -- but he claims Williams didn't have an accident, he said Williams was running on purpose.

Stephanie Robinson said she heard the chase on her scanner.

"We just heard that he was running from the police and that he was coming down Prospect Road and that he was doing over 80 miles per hour," said Robinson.

The report does not say any drugs were found but cell phone photos show the car and everything in it were destroyed by the fire.

Aragon police said they are still investigating.

Williams said the injuries have been difficult to bear. "I can't feed myself, I can't even bathe myself, barely can use the bathroom, I'm fixing to be 29-years-old," said Williams.

According to the police report there is video of the entire incident. The Aragon chief of police is out of town for a funeral and was not able to speak with Channel 2 or show the tape.