april 26th, 2004, perry, georgia. officer chris sutcliffe is in his patrol car overlooking the interstate when he notices a pickup truck making a sharp turn off the exit, going way too fast. seconds later, he sees another police car going after it, sirens blaring. officer sutcliffe doesn t think twice. he makes a quick but fateful decision to follow the speeding police car and join the pursuit. i initially just told my dispatcher, i m going to be here for backup in case he needs it. the chase lasts only a minute or two. the truck, racing at incredibly high speeds, crashes into a telephone pole. by the time officer sutcliffe arrives on the scene, officer chad payne has three suspects, teenagers, out of the truck and on the ground. you know, i was thinking, stupid kids out joyriding, getting scared. sutcliffe and payne have no idea what they ve just walked into.
by 2003, kevin cooper had lost all of his appeals for the 1983 murders of the ryen family and chris hughes. with his time running out and cooper still professing his innocence, the case came to the attention of the high-powered law firm, orrick, harrington and sutcliffe. norm hile was part of a team that fought death penalty cases on a pro bono basis. one thing i ve learned in 25 years of representing people on death row, you re going to be fighting an uphill battle, and to have a client whose life is in the balance is a very heavy burden. what hile could not dispute was cooper s criminal history, his escape from prison and his proximity to the murders.
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and he looks underneath the vehicle and just lays down a massive amount of gunfire. barnett, protected only by the tire of a truck, starts firing at close range. but the suspect has additional ammunition. he grabs officer sutcliffe s handgun, the one he dropped on the ground when he was shot. the suspect and police continue to exchange gunfire. finally, payne s partner fires one last time. payne sees the suspect s gun fall to the ground. so, i communicate to eric, you know, he s thrown the gun. it s all clear. the two officers run over and arrest the suspects. it s only at the end of the fight when the fear settles in. it s at that point, when you really get scared, you know, because you start thinking, you know, what if? paramedics arrive to take the injured to the hospital. the four teens survive. they were on the run after stealing that pickup in ohio. the shooter, 19-year-old charles brutus wright, is sentenced to 107 years in prison. as a result of his injuries, officer
the gunfire startles officer payne and he starts returning fire. and now the teen has turned all attention to officer payne. officer in trouble. shots fired. i need backup. as i m shooting at the guy, you know, he s continuously shooting back at me. and he s got cover behind his vehicle. the only cover i have at this point is the door of my vehicle, which is really not cover at all. the bullets are flying back and forth in rapid succession. sutcliffe realizes he s helpless to do anything, lying defenseless and bleeding badly on the ground. he only hopes the gunman won t turn on him. i look down and realized that i had a lot of blood squirting out of my arm. and i maybe only had three or four minutes before i might pass out. i ve been shot. i need assistance. i m bleeding badly. at this point, another officer arrives at the scene. officer payne s partner, eric burnett. and my partner runs up to the vehicle and squats down behind the tire and looks under the vehicle and looks o