A black man with a problematic cop history saved an officer’s life after a fiery crash.
While in his home on Sunday evening, Daylan McLee, 31, felt his house shook right after he heard an explosion-like sound from a nearby impact. The incident happened in the city of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, as The Blaze reports.
Shortly after, McLee’s relative came into his house and told him there was a car crash near his home. He then sprinted outside and found the Uniontown Police Officer Jay Hanley trapped in a burning police cruiser.
Just as the flames began to spread, Daylan took action. He couldn’t just stand by and watch the officer burn to death. He dragged the cop away from the burning car. In an interview with KDKA, he recalled:
“There were people outside screaming. We felt it in the house. It was like a jolt.”
The man claimed that the cop asked not to be moved as he had a severe leg injury. Apparently, he couldn’t see or feel the flames. McLee explained:
“Then we started to see flames start to come inside of the car from the bottom, and I knew we had to get him out. Another officer tried to assist me, and I just ripped the door open and we started dragging him across the street before the car ignited or anything serious like that.”
Currently, state police are investigating the accident. According to Trooper Robert Broadwater, the examination will show whether there was a problem with the traffic light or the vehicle at the time of the crash.
While Hanley was sent to a nearby hospital for a leg surgery, the driver of the other vehicle was able to walk away from the scene on their own.
McLee, who saved the officer’s life, said:
“I know this man is my brother through Christ, and I couldn’t leave him behind.”
Uniontown Police Lieutenant Thomas Kolencik shared with WTAE-TV that the black man definitely saved Hanley’s life.
“Daylan actually said, ‘I’m not going to let him die.’ There’s just no words to describe, you know. We are so thankful Daylan was in the area at the time. It could have been a lot worse.”Previously, McLee has had negative run-ins with the local police. However, he selflessly saved an officer from a burning car despite the ongoing intense conflicts between police and citizens in the U.S.
He admits he couldn’t leave the cop to die, no matter what other officers have done to him:
“No matter what other people have done to me, or other officers, I thought, ‘This guy deserves to make it home safely to his family.’”
In 2018, McLee filed a lawsuit against four Pennsylvania State Troopers for wrongful arrest after he spent a year in jail on false charges.
After a fight outside an American Legion bar, McLee was wrongfully jailed. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that after Daylan’s sister called him as she needed a ride home, a fight had broken out. When Daylan arrived at the place, he disarmed a man in the parking lot, who had a gun. Then, McLee threw the weapon aside.
An officer on the scene reportedly fired shots at Daylan, insisting that he pointed a weapon at him. However, surveillance footage revealed that McLee simply disarmed the man and discarded the gun almost immediately.
After reviewing the footage, a jury lifted McLee’s charges.
This wasn’t the only unjust encounter Daylan had with local officers. Earlier this year, plainclothes police reportedly showed up at a gathering with guns drawn. They did not announce they were law enforcement officials, as McLee claims, so understandably, he ran. However, as soon as the officers identified themselves, he immediately stopped running and placed his hands behind his head.
Following this incident, Daylan was charged with fleeing and resisting arrest. Moreover, one of the officers reportedly kicked him in the face, splitting his lip.
Undeterred by his unjust encounters with police, McLee believes in forgiveness.
Daylan, who is the father of a 13-year-old son, shares he wants to set a good example for his child.
“Some people may think I look intimidating. And I can’t hate the trooper who shot at me for what he doesn’t know. I don’t want to be called a hero. I just want to be known as an individual who is an upstanding man.”
