Lilburn Man Accused of Nearly Running Over Police Officer

A Lilburn man is accused of nearly hitting a police officer with his car earlier this month.

According to the Gwinnett County Police report, three officers were conducting surveillance around 9:30 p.m. Valentine's Day at the Motel 6 off Oakbrook Parkway in unincorporated Norcross. The officers observed a gray Honda Pilot pull up to one of the buildings, and the male driver exited and walked to the second floor to meet with another man. 

The driver, who was later identified as 27-year-old Phong Van, went back to the car and reparked it in a different space. The officers thought this was suspicious, so one of them knocked on the rear window. The officer advised the driver to roll down the window, but he only looked at the officer and started backing up.

Van then was ordered to stop, according to the police report, but for some reason he pointed toward the rear of the motel and continued to drive. He headed to the front entrance, so the nearest officer stood in the roadway to stop him. 

He still didn't stop and actually kept driving at a high rate of speed toward her. She had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit, and she reported his tag number and direction of travel to via radio.

Another Gwinnett officer initiated a traffic stop with the car near Singleton Road and Thompson Parkway, and they pulled into a Kroger parking lot. Van was arrested immediately and charged with aggravated assault and obstruction of officer.

Inside the Police Blotter runs regularly every week. The information is based solely on police incident reports provided on request.