A 20-year-old man was at Regional Medical Center Monday receiving treatment for minor injuries he received after he was hit by a police car.
Anniston police said the man, whose name was not released Monday, is a suspect in a drug case and was hit when he ran in front of one of their patrol cars. Police say that car, occupied by Street Crimes Team members Officer Kevin Briley and Sgt. Jay Whisenant, was pursuing the 20-year-old after he ran away from them when police ar-rived to perform a drug search at Morris & Ray Service Station, at the corner of 15th Street and Dooley Avenue.
Whisenant, leader of Anniston police's Street Crimes Team, said team members and the Calhoun-Cleburne Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force arrived at the Anniston service station around 5 p.m. Monday to follow up on a tip that someone was selling illegal drugs at the business.
When police cars were within sight of the station, the 20-year-old man began to run away from them, Whisenant said.
Briley, who was driving the car Whisenant was in, pursued the suspect as he ran a coupleof hundred feet westward on 15th Street, police said.
When the police car was just past the intersection of 15th Street and Dooley Avenue, the man crossed in front of the car and was struck, police said.
Whisenant said he did not know how fast the car was going but that, after a moment, the 20-year-old jumped up and began to run away.
Whisenant jumped out of the police car and apprehended the suspect in the middle of the intersection.
An ambulance arrived and took the man to Regional Medical Center for minor scrapes and injuries, Anniston Police Chief Layton McGrady said.
Anniston resident Lisa Caver said she was standing outside nearby apartment complex Cooper Homes and witnessed the incident.
Caver, 29, said she thought the police car hit the 20-year-old man twice.
About 100 people gathered around the service station and nearby wreck scene to watch police as they investigated the scenes.
Police recovered marijuana in the service station parking lot, and Whisenant found a bag of cocaine in the sewer drain next to the intersection of 15th Street and Dooley Avenue.
Police said they observed the 20-year-old dropping the drugs when he ran from them.
Caver said she watched the incident and didn't think the man dropped anything.
Whisenant said police plan to charge the man with possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana.
Contact Star Staff Writer Cameron Steele at 256-235-3562.
Copyright (c) 2011, The Anniston Star, Ala.
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