By Sarah Robinson
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
COLUMBUS, Ga. — Body camera footage released Thursday showed a more detailed account of the 28th Street shooting involving Columbus police officers earlier this week.
Video from two separate cameras showed Towon Obryan Earl trying to drive away from police Tuesday during a stop and injuring three officers before he wrecked a vehicle and was shot by police.
The footage, obtained from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation by the Ledger-Enquirer, showed Officer Raymond Harralson shoot at Earl four times while Officer Ryan Vardman was stuck inside the vehicle.
Officers ran to the 2000 Honda Accord after it crashed into an apartment building. They quickly removed Earl from the car, but he was tangled in his seatbelt for several minutes. A woman holding a baby ran to the car immediately after the shooting, but officers ordered her away from the scene.
In the video, a handgun is seen resting on the floorboard of the driver’s side.
Earl, 29, faces several charges from Tuesday’s incident in the 300 block of 28th Street. He was wanted on multiple warrants when officers attempted to make an arrest.
During a hearing Thursday in Columbus Recorder’s Court, police said the 9 mm Hi-Point firearm on the floor was loaded. Authorities also said they found a Crown Royal bag containing digital scales, several plastic baggies commonly used for packing narcotics, 80.6 grams of marijuana with a street value of $806 and 8 grams of crushed Xanax. The gun and the vehicle both were reported stolen from Alabama, police added.
Police also reported finding 2 grams of crack cocaine while escorting Earl in an ambulance to the hospital.
Officer Vardman told the court Thursday that he noticed the car stopped in the roadway with a woman “looking into” it. When the driver spotted the officer, he backed into a parking lot of an apartment complex before coming to a stop, Vardman said. The officer walked up to the vehicle and spoke to Earl.
“As I was approaching him and when I got there, I smelled a strong odor of marijuana,” Vardman said.
During the incident, Earl mentioned he didn’t have a driver’s license, police said. Vardman said he asked the defendant if his license was suspended, and he replied yes.
During a hearing Wednesday, GBI Special Agent Deanna Jury testified that Earl attempted to flee police.
In the video, Earl can be seen backing up and striking Officer Michael Aguilar with the bumper of his vehicle.
The driver’s door struck Vardman, and the officer jumped into the moving vehicle to avoid getting run over, the agent said. Unable to get completely inside of the vehicle, Vardman grabbed onto the car.
When Earl pulled forward, the driver’s door struck Cpl. Dean Spata, with the impact pushing Vardman further into the vehicle, according to court testimony.
In the video, Earl dodged a green van and drove onto the grass in front of another apartment building then briefly onto 28th Street before sharply turning left and crashing into an apartment building. While Earl was losing control of the vehicle, Vardman was able to get into the passenger side. That’s when Harralson shot his weapon four times, striking Earl once in the right leg.
Earl was taken by ambulance to Midtown Medical Center where he was treated before being transported to the Muscogee County Jail. Aguilar said police found drugs in Earl’s pocket during the ride to the hospital.
“I looked in his pocket and tried to find an identification card and located 2.0 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of $200,” he said.
Officers Vardman, Aguilar and Spata were treated at Midtown Medical Center and released.
Earl, who has a history of non-violent run-ins with the law, didn’t testify in court. He faces three counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, one count each of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, theft by receiving stolen property, theft by receiving stolen property from another state and possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Earl’s charges were bound over to Superior Court. He is held in the Muscogee County Jail.
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