FAIRBURN, Ga. — Newly released surveillance and police body cam videos show the moment Fairburn police officer Levar Sims was run over by a man allegedly caught sleeping in a pickup truck in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn off I-85.
The suspect, Taurean McShan from Memphis, Tennessee, is still at large.
According to Fairburn Police, officer Levar Sims was helping a fellow officer responded to a suspicious vehicle parked outside the Holiday Inn. Officials said McShan was asleep when they approached the pickup the officers said they could smell alcohol and marijuana.
Sims’ body camera video shows a first-person perspective angle. The video, obtained by 11Alive, shows Sims open the passenger side door of the truck and ask McShan if he was a guest at the hotel. Sims also asked if he had any weapons. Sims and another officer asked the man to get out of the pickup, and the man did, immediately.
Surveillance video from the hotel shows Sims and the other officer approach the truck from both sides. Sims was on the passenger side of the car beaming his flashlight around when McShan got out of the pickup. The suspect appeared to comply and stood beside the other officer.
As Sims was walking around to the driver's side of the pickup truck, McShan jumped back into the pickup and started to back up. The other Fairburn officer is seen diving into the back seat and Sims tries to get into the passenger seat.
McShan backed up the truck and hit a white semi parked behind him, scraping the passenger side of the truck. Sims’ partner jumped out and McShan attempted to pull forward. The officer who was now outside the truck opened the driver’s side door but McShan sped off.
Sims fell out of the truck when it ran over a speed bump. The video shows the suspect running over Sims with both front and rear tires before speeding off.
In the body camera video, Sims is heard yelling and the video jumps rapidly as he is struggling to stop the man and bring the truck to a safe stop.
Sims was rushed in to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
Fairburn Police said Sims has serious injuries but said his spinal chord was not damaged. He is now out of surgery and communicating.
Sims joined Fairburn Police just two months ago in Nov. 2018 from the MARTA police force, said Fairburn Deputy Chief Anthony Bazydlo.
"He's a good officer. He gets along with everyone on patrol and is always willing to help out -- which is what he was doing here," Bazydlo said. "The officer had called for backup and he was the first to respond."
Police found the pickup truck abandoned, a few miles away. They said that paperwork inside the truck showed McShan had rented it in Memphis. According to police, McShan has a record of drugs and weapons charges.