Footage captures dramatic pursuit that left Glynn County deputies injured, ended with sheriff performing PIT maneuver

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. – Dash camera video obtained Tuesday by News4JAX sheds light on a high-speed pursuit in Glynn County that resulted in three deputies being injured and ended with the sheriff using a PIT maneuver.

Sheriff Neal Jump said it started when drivers on the road Monday began reporting a reckless driver. The man was identified as Grant Billings, 34, of Atlanta.

The video News4JAX obtained begins near an intersection where deputies were attempting to pull over the driver of a pickup — later identified as Billings. When deputies try to stop the truck, the driver hits the gas and takes off.

At one point, the truck nearly spins out of control, but keeps going. Moments later, it blows through a busy intersection.

“This guy needed to be stopped,” Jump told News4JAX in an interview. “It didn’t matter if it was blue lights behind him or not. He was going to hurt somebody.”

Two minutes later, the chase is no longer on heavily-traveled roadways, but in a residential area where the chance of hitting a pedestrian is much greater. We see the truck veer off the road and go across someone’s front yard and then onto another road.

Moments later, we see a deputy’s car get hit. The truck continues and seconds later, dash camera footage from another patrol unit records a crash. It gets even more intense when one of the deputies tries to open the passenger door.

The deputy was prepared to fire at the driver, but decides not to take the shot when he sees a woman sitting in the passenger seat.

(Click photo below for the raw, uncut footage of the pursuit.)

By now, Jump hears over the radio that three of his deputies have been injured.

“Hit one head-on. He pinned one of the deputies between the body of the car and the door, which injured one of the deputies. He struck one of our other deputies that were on the ground trying to get him out with his truck,” Jump said.

Knowing the driver’s truck could be too much for the patrol cars, the sheriff goes after the truck with his truck and performs a PIT maneuver.

“Once I got him into a spin, I locked him up and put him off into the median,” Jump said.

Photos posted by Glynn County Sheriff's Office.

Billings was arrested and charged with multiple counts of assault, DUI, fleeing deputies and other charges.

“People of Glynn County didn’t elect me to sit behind a desk all the time,” Jump added. “They elected me to be a proactive, working sheriff. And that’s what I am. If you can’t lead by example, then what are you?”

The Glynn County Police Department were also involved in the chase, but the police chief had yet to release that video.


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