MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The wife of a suspect accused of hitting a police car before crashing spoke out Monday.
Suspect John Hancock was reportedly speeding away from an aggravated assault at a home in the 3300 block of Ridgeway Road on Friday.
“When I looked up, he had that boiling pot of hot water coming at me,” Tangler Pitts Hancock said.
She is John’s wife. She said they separated last week.
She said he came over to pick up some of his belongings Friday. She was boiling water to clean her carpet, and she said he threw it at her.
The water caused second-degree burns on Tangler Pitts Hancock’s arms, chest and left leg.
She said right after it happened, he tried to help her, telling her to take her shirt off. He also reportedly offered her butter for her wounds.
Her kids and a cousin were home at the time.
She said he eventually ran outside, and her daughter started throwing things at him.
The victim said he backed out of the driveway onto Ridgeway.
“Backed right on out to the police car,” she said.
The unmarked police car only had minor damage, but what happened next landed John Hancock in even more trouble.
Police said he took off, ran the light at Hickory Hill Road and Knight Arnold Road, then lost control, turning over on Knight Arnold, east of Inverness Parkway Drive.
“John is not a bad person. Really, I don’t know what possessed him,” Tangler Pitts Hancock said.
She said her husband has never hurt her before. Still, she has a clear message for others in the community who could be in potentially violent relationships.
“To the other young ladies who experience any violent acts from their spouse or mate, to please seek for help, so that they will not be in my condition.”
Tangler Pitts Hancock said she is still very sore from her injuries.
Police said John Hancock went to the hospital after the accident. The police reports indicate that investigators believed he was under the influence of intoxicants or drugs, but he refused to be tested at the hospital.
County records show he was in jail Monday.
