Durham man faces seven charges after Cary officer struggle on NC-55
A Durham man was accused of trying to drag two Cary officers with his car on NC-55, triggering seven charges, including two felony assault counts.
Damian Charles Awkward, 30, of Durham, faced seven charges after Cary police said a confrontation on NC-55 turned into a struggle with two officers who were trying to remove him from a 2023 Toyota Corolla.
Court records and warrants cited in the case said one officer wrote that Awkward tried to shift the car into drive while the officer was inside the vehicle, an action police allege could have struck or dragged the officer. The charge sheet included two counts of assaulting a government official with a deadly weapon, felony possession of cocaine, misdemeanor resisting a public officer and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
The alleged use of the car is central to the case. Under North Carolina General Statute 14-34.2, assault with a deadly weapon upon governmental officers or employees is a felony, and in this case the vehicle itself is being treated as the weapon. That pushes the incident far beyond a routine traffic stop or misdemeanor arrest.
Details on injuries and whether the incident involved a chase were not immediately available in the materials cited by the case. Cary police had been asked for more information about possible officer injuries and the sequence of events, but no response had been received when the case details were compiled. No dashcam or bodycam footage was identified in the records referenced.
Awkward was scheduled for a first appearance in Wake County Court at 1:30 p.m. the same day. The timing and the mix of allegations, a roadway confrontation, drug charges and an assault accusation against officers, made the case one of the more serious public-safety incidents to emerge from Cary’s busy NC-55 corridor.
The Town of Cary says its police department provides public reports through a records process and a Police to Citizen portal, where residents can view daily bulletin information and obtain copies of police and accident reports once they are available. Additional incident details may be added as the case file is updated.
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