N.C. Police Officer Suffers Head Injury Tackling Cuffed Armed Robbery Suspect During Chase

A Monroe police officer stopped an armed robbery suspect who tried to flee while handcuffed, suffering a head gash after falling on a pickup truck toolbox during the struggle.

By Mark Price

Source The Charlotte Observer

Sept. 24, 2026

2 min read

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A Monroe police officer suffered a head injury after tackling an armed robbery suspect who tried to run while handcuffed during an arrest warrant operation.
Despite gashing his head on a pickup truck toolbox during the struggle, the officer helped stop the suspect's escape.
Investigators say the suspect was linked to three armed robberies through surveillance evidence and a vehicle license plate, leading to multiple felony charges and no bond.

Armed robbery suspect caught on security camera footage — Investigators say an armed robbery suspect tried to run while handcuffed, but a determined Monroe police officer brought him down despite suffering a serious cut to the head.

A determined police officer suffered a head injury when he chased down and tackled a fleeing armed robbery suspect, according to investigators in North Carolina.

It happened around 5 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Citi View Apartments in Monroe, where an arrest warrant was being served on Scottavais Hailey, a suspect in three armed robberies, officials said.

“Hailey was handcuffed and sitting on the curb, but he decided to jump up and run,” the Monroe Police Department told The Charlotte Observer in an email.

“The officer tackled him, and they fell into the tool box on the bed of a pickup truck nearby. The officer gashed his head on the corner of the toolbox. He was treated and is out of the hospital now.”

The robberies occurred in Union and Richmond counties, and the Union County Sheriff’s Office says the license plate on a Toyota Camry became the “key lead” that tied the crimes together.

“Through surveillance footage and other evidence, detectives linked Scottavais Hailey to the armed robberies at Wingstop and Indian Trail Tobacco and Vape, as well as a robbery in Rockingham,” the sheriff’s office said.

“On September 22, detectives with the Union County Sheriff’s Office and Monroe Police Department, along with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, executed a search warrant at Hailey’s Monroe residence. Additional evidence was seized, further linking Hailey to the robberies.”

Hailey, 41, has been charged with: