Man charged after running over Bartlett Police officer with stolen truck, records show

BARTLETT, Tenn. — Attempted second-degree murder is just one of seven charges a 26-year-old Memphis man faces after police say he ran over a Bartlett officer with a stolen truck.

It happened Wednesday, January 18 around 9 a.m. in an IHOP parking lot on Wolfcreek Lane in the Wolfchase area.

Court records show that Bartlett Police officers noticed a stolen 2010 Chevrolet Silverado in that parking lot. Those officers turned on their lights and one of the officers walked up to the truck, telling Demario Rodriques Mathis Jr. to keep his hands up as the officer approached.

Instead, police said that Mathis reversed into a light pole and then put the truck in drive, intentionally running over that officer, causing injuries to the hip and thigh area.

“The officer, Bartlett Police I assume, asked him to get out, and then he just stepped on the gas and just hit the officer in the leg, knocked him down from my understanding and then lost control and hit our vehicle,” said witness Crage Garner.

PHOTOS: Bartlett Police officer hit by stolen vehicle

That officer was rushed to Regional One Hospital and released the same day, expected to be ok.

After hitting the officer, Mathis crashed into two parked cars, got out of the stolen truck and briefly ran off on foot before police were able to take him into custody, his arrest affidavit states.

“It was just crazy,” said Aretha Garner, the owner of one of those cars who was eating breakfast inside the IHOP at the time.

Police said they searched the truck, valued at nearly $11,000, and found a loaded stolen gun, a bag of weed and a pipe.

“I just got up and looked out the window. I said, ‘there’s too much commotion going on.’ By the time I looked out, our car was totaled,” said Aretha.

Mathis, who was already a convicted felon due to a 2022 convocation in Mississippi, was charged with attempted second-degree murder, theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000, theft of property between $1,000 and $2,500, being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, possession of a controlled substance - marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and intentionally evading arrest in an automobile.

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