A Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy has been fired after alarming video footage was released showing him smashing a man's head during a violent end to a winding police chase.

David Glen Ward, whose race is unclear, never regained consciousness after 19-year veteran Deputy Charlie Blount cracked his skull against a car door while he was being tased.

Ward had spoken to police officers just two hours earlier about his stolen car, a green Honda Civic, which he had reported three days earlier on November 24. He managed to find his stolen car and get it back but he didn't report it to police, who spotted the vehicle in Sebastopol, California, and began a seven-minute chase that ended violently.

Deputy Jason Little spotted Ward's car at 5:41 a.m. on Wednesday, November 27 and began to chase it. He tried to pull the car over multiple times but Ward reportedly sped up, reaching 70 mph at certain points. Two other police cars eventually joined the chase which ended after Ward turned onto a dead-end road.

Little and Blount approached the car with their guns drawn and flashed their light into the eyes of a visibly injured Ward. Ward, who family members said was disabled because of a previous car accident, followed their orders and opened his window.

"I can't believe this. I'm the injured party in this. Why you f**king harassing me all the time?" Ward said, according to the video.

Blount attacked Ward and tried to drag him out through the car window but the 52-year-old's legs were stuck under the wheel. The officer continues to pull Ward despite screams of agony, even prompting Little to say they should stop.

"He's stuck, Charlie," Little said.

The video, which has been omitted due to its graphic content, then shows Blount pull Ward's head out of the window and violently slam it against the door frame. According to the footage, an audible crack can be heard before Little shoots his taser at him. Blount puts Ward into a chokehold as he loses consciousness.

Other officers pulled Ward's lifeless body out of the car despite him appearing to be unconscious. They later handcuff him before performing CPR.

Deputy Nick Jax appears at the end of the bodycam footage from the incident, astonished that police had chased, attacked and tased Ward for recovering his own stolen car.

He began to explain the situation to a confused Little, who repeatedly asked why Ward refused to stop.

"This is the owner of this car. That's David Ward. I have no idea why he ran. He had no reason to run. But I was out with him earlier, like two hours ago, at his house. The car wasn't here at the time. Obviously he, somehow, he made contact with the guy and got it," Jax said.

"Oh well," Blount said.

In a video posted to YouTube on Friday, Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick apologized to the family.

"If you watched the body-worn camera video closely, you may be concerned by what you saw. So was I. The way Deputy Blount handles the entire situation is extremely troubling. As a result, I have served Deputy Blount a notice of termination," Essick said in the video.

"He has been on administrative leave since this incident occurred, and he will remain on leave until the conclusion of this investigation and any and all potential appeals in the case have taken place. We released these videos so the community can get as full a picture as possible about critical incidents in our county, regardless of if it puts us in a good light, or bad," Essick added.

The cause of death has not been confirmed yet but Ward's sister and mother told the Press Democrat that the talented artist was permanently disabled after being hit by a drunk driver. He also had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well as a heart condition. Because of his health, he had to use an oxygen tank and a wheelchair.

Almost two weeks after Ward's death, police arrested his 32-year-old former caretaker Driden Adrian Estrada for stealing his car.

Little has been placed on administrative leave but Blount's attorney has repeatedly claimed the officer didn't cause Ward's death.

"Frankly, Mr. Ward caused his own death by inexplicably taking a number of bizarre actions that confirmed in the deputies’ minds that he was an armed car-jacker, rather than the victim of that crime," Stern said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.

In an interview with KTVU, Ward's 85-year-old mother Ernie expressed sorrow that her son died in such a violent way and was happy Blount was removed from the force.

"I think that was good. He needs to be fired," she said.

Sonoma-County

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