Man leads officers on chase, leaves 2 children behind, police say

SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Police say a father who led them on a chase and then ran, leaving his 4-year-old and a 1-year-old in the car, turned himself into officers Monday night.

The Fairburn Police Department gave Channel 2's Liz Artz a stack of arrest warrants on Demario Evans, 28.

Body camera video captured the moments after police say Evans blew through a stop sign last week, and then sped away from officers.

Police told Artz that, at one point, Evans popped the tire of his black Dodge Avenger, and that's when they say he took off on foot, with the officer not far behind. The officer soon lost Evans in the brush.

"He didn't have any outstanding warrants. Maybe he thought he did," Detective Charles Israel said.

Israel was at the scene within minutes. He said he doesn't know why Evans ran, but that he left behind his 4-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old girl.

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“I want my daddy; he's going to jail,” the 4-year-old girl said.

Heartbreaking police body camera video shows a police officer talking to the 4-year-old girl.

“Come with me, I’m going to take care of you OK?” the officer said. “Do you want some water?” he asked the child.

Israel told Artz that the officer who pursued Evans did not know children were in the car at the time of the chase.

“She's a smart officer," Israel said. "I think she would have definitely weighed that into her decision whether to continue her pursuit."

He told Artz the brief chase was textbook procedure.

“It could just be a suspended license, or it could be that he had kidnapped someone in the car or is wanted for murder,” Israel said.

Detectives told Artz they purchased some food for the 4-year-old girl to eat while they tried to track down her mother to come pick her up from police headquarters.

Police said a woman was in the passenger seat. She's not charged with a crime.

Artz stopped by her house Monday. Someone was there, but would not answer the door. The day of the chase she told police she tried to get Evans to stop.

Cox Media Group