Georgia police officer 'kidnapped' by gang members during traffic stop caught on video, officials say
A Georgia police officer was caught on dash cam video allegedly being kidnapped after gang members attempted to flee the scene by driving away during a traffic stop last week — making it more than a mile in rush-hour traffic before being stopped.
Marietta Police Officer Brian Wallace was conducting a traffic stop around 7:30 a.m. Thursday in Cobb County when he had the driver of the vehicle step out because he noted “his body language seemed odd.” Two other people were also in the vehicle at the time.
“Officer Wallace also noted that he smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and called for a backup officer to assist in a vehicle search,” the police department wrote on Facebook.
Another officer, Sgt. Brian Honea, arrived at the scene as a backup. Dash cam video released on Friday showed the suspect sprinting back to the driver’s side of the car and attempting to flee as Wallace wrestled with them. The passenger put the car in drive, pinning Wallace inside the vehicle while Honea was knocked to the ground.“The suspects wrestled with Officer Wallace inside their vehicle at speeds up to (71) mph through congested traffic, muddy dirt roads and rough terrain,” the department said. “Officer Wallace stated that roughly halfway into the more than 1 mile kidnapping he decided to pull the driver door closed in order to keep from being thrown out onto the roadway in traffic.”
One of the suspects jumped out of the car before the vehicle came to a complete stop. The driver eventually surrendered to Wallace. Two handguns that were tossed from the vehicle were recovered.
The three suspects — gang members from Massachusetts identified as Cory Moody, Eyzaiya Moody and Walter Gadson Jr. — were arrested and booked into jail Thursday. They face charges that include assault, obstruction, fleeing and eluding, kidnapping, felon in possession of a firearm. They also face traffic violation charges.
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