A Fayette County sheriff’s deputy testified that he was in fear for his life as he struggled with a Fayetteville man who sped away from a traffic stop on County Line Road Nov. 29, ultimately throwing the deputy from the vehicle.
Dep. Ryan Phillips said he was hanging onto the passenger’s seat, with part of his body outside the car as it began to move, when he shot Nathaniel Elder twice.
Phillips testified Tuesday afternoon in Elder’s trial in Fayette County Superior Court. Elder is charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, two felony counts of obstructing a police officer and one misdemeanor count of fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer.
Dep. Phillips denied he was trying to kill Elder by firing the two shots, but insisted he was instead “trying to stop the threat.”
Prior to Elder beginning to drive away, he and Phillips were engaged in a struggle as Elder attempted to reach under the driver’s seat, the deputy testified. The worry at that time was there could be a weapon underneath the seat, Phillips added.
As Elder began to drive away, the wheels spun on the wet pavement and Phillips said he worried about being thrown from the car.
“I was in fear for my life of getting run over by that car and getting pinned under it,” Phillips said.
Although Elder was struck by at least one of the shots, he was able to drive away and wasn’t arrested until hours later at a residence in Clayton County, officials said.
Elder’s attorney, Daniel Kane, asked why Phillips didn’t use pepper spray instead in an attempt to subdue Elder. Phillips responded that doing so would have incapacitated everyone in the car’s immediate vicinity, and perhaps caused Elder to run into an innocent person.
The case is being prosecuted by Fayette County Assistant District Attorney Robert Smith.
The state continued to present its case against Elder going into Tuesday afternoon as The Citizen went to press. Check for updates at www.TheCitizen.com.
