Tennessee driver charged with attempted murder tried to plow down Memphis officer on sidewalk: court docs
Orlando Davie is being held on a $2.5 million bond
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A Tennessee driver is facing several charges, including attempted murder, after allegedly swerving through traffic in downtown Memphis on the Fourth of July and intentionally hopping a sidewalk curb to run down a police officer, according to court documents.
Following an arraignment hearing Wednesday, Orlando Davie, 24, of Hernando, Mississippi, is being held on a $2.5 million bond in connection to the incident in downtown Memphis Monday night, Fox 13 Memphis reported.
Court documents show that officers with the Memphis Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop around 7:15 p.m. at the intersection of Front Street and GE Patterson after Davis was spotted "speeding, swerving and endangering the lives of pedestrians."
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FLORIDA MAN ALLEGEDLY AMBUSHED OFFICER OUTSIDE POLICE HQ, WRESTLED FOR HIS GUN
But Davie refused to stop, an affidavit says, and he instead drove into oncoming traffic, striking a Dodge Ram pickup. Davie fled the scene of the crash at a high rate of speed, but officers called off their pursuit due to safety concerns. An affidavit says Davie then made eye contact with an officer – and drove up onto the sidewalk in an attempt to run the officer over.
The officer took cover to avoid being struck, WATN-TV reported. That officer later identified Davie in a photo lineup.
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Davie is charged with evading arrest involving an attempt to run down a police officer, vandalism of $2,500 to $10,000 and criminal attempted first-degree murder, WMC reported. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 14.
Meanwhile, ambush attacks on law enforcement officers nationwide are up 91% year to date compared to 2020, a police group said last week.
The National Fraternal Order of Police found that 51 law enforcement officers were shot, 13 of whom died, in 40 ambush-style attacks as of June 30, a 91% jump from the same time last year. In all of 2020, there were 48 ambush-style attacks, which left 60 officers wounded, 12 fatally, according to the group’s 2020 summary.
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Fox News' Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.