Kelly O’Connell
WRBL
Published: May 7, 2008

The man charged with dragging the West Point police chief more than 80 feet in his car is still in the Troup County Jail today. Christopher Antonio Gilliam, 25, is charged with felony obstruction, aggravated assault and reckless driving, among other charges.

The incident happened April 28.

The chief is back on the job, and Wednesday, WRBL News 3 sat down with him to see how he’s recovering.

The chief has been back in the office since Thursday. But Wednesday was the first time he’s spoken publicly about what happened that afternoon when he stopped a car for a routine traffic stop that was anything but routine.

“I asked for his driver’s license and really that’s the last thing I remember until I woke up on the pavement,” West Point Police Chief David Kerr said.

Kerr got caught in the vehicle and was dragged almost 90 feet. But surprisingly, he only suffered a minor concussion and bruises.

“Damage to my Blackberry and my gun was damaged, so I had all these things damaged, but all I had were bruises, so they must have kept me off the pavement until I slowed down a bit,” Kerr said.

Even with some bruises and the occasional headache, Kerr still has his sense of humor.

And he’s excited to be back at the office.

“I couldn’t watch the soap operas anymore. I just had cabin fever,” he said.

His officers welcomed him back with plenty of love.

“They’ve called me a few names, roadrunner, slide - it’s good we can laugh about it,” he said.

Laughs aside, the chief knows how lucky he is.

“Even if you’re prepared and trained, you can’t plan for the unforeseen,” he said.

It’s that unforeseen that the chief said he can do without.

“This is the first time something like this has ever happened to me and it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if it was the last,” Kerr said.

Kerr said the experience does not make him scared to approach other vehicles, but he will probably have his guard up a little more next time than he did for this incident.

Kerr said everyone from police officers to the doctors treated him wonderfully and quickly, which made a bad situation much better.