Police: Man arrested after dragging Clayton County officer
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - A man was arrested after police said he dragged an officer 100 feet before leading her on a chase in Clayton County early Tuesday morning.
Suspect Charles Nile, 40, was found lying on the ground next to a car in the Ellenwood area. As a police officer approached him, he woke up and he appeared to be disoriented as well as impaired, according to investigators.
The officer said Nile tried to get in the car, so she gave him commands to stop, which he ignored. Police said the officer tried to physically stop the suspect from getting inside the vehicle, and that's when a fight began.
"Nile made his way into the driver's seat, placed the vehicle in gear and began driving away, causing the officer to become pinned in the door of the vehicle and dragged approximately 100 feet," Clayton County police said on Facebook. "The officer was able to free herself from the vehicle as Nile continued to drive."
According to police, Nile hit a vehicle as he was leaving the QuickTrip warehouse near Forest Parkway, but continued to drive away.
Additional officers were called in and helped locate the suspect's stolen car driving northbound on Interstate 675. He ended up hitting a parked tractor trailer on Lunsford Drive before exiting the vehicle and running away.
A foot chase followed, and not long after, Nile was taken into custody. He's now facing a number of charges, including aggravated assault, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, failure to obey an officer, driving under the influence and several others.
"He'll have a place to lay down and rest for many days to come," Clayton County police. "When he's not facing the wall."
Police said the officer that was dragged suffered minor injuries, but she's doing well and will likely return to work in a few days.