Towns County Knife Suspect
August 20 | Posted by editor | News, Towns Tags: Towns County Sheriff Office
Hiawassee, GA - Thursday afternoon, August 16, Hiawassee Police were dispatched to a Dr.’s Office near the hospital in reference to a male allegedly wielding a knife. Hiawasse Police Officer Walls arrived near the scene, and Towns County Sheriff Chris Clinton was in the area and also responded to the call along with another deputy.
After a short search, the subject came out of some bushes near Sheriff Clinton, who made contact with the subject and began to attempt to reason with him. The suspect was holding a knife, and had already apparently stabbed himself in the chest and was bleeding from a large wound. The suspect moved back toward the Dr.’s office, and Sheriff Clinton stayed with him and prevented the suspect from re-entering the Dr.’s office. Officer Walls and Sheriff Clinton, along with Deputy Richards, continued to attempt to get the man to release his knife.
The subject began moving quickly toward Sheriff Clinton with the knife upraised, and only after several shouted commands did he stop and back away. Additional Towns County Deputies arrived, and the Dr.’s office doors were locked from the inside in a further attempt to prevent the subject from entering.
The subject was apparently upset that the Dr.s office had refused to provide him with a prescription for oxycodone. With the suspect contained in a small area outside the doors of the office, deputies and officers continued to attempt to convince the suspect to drop his weapon. The suspect kept up a threatening posture and demeanor, and threatened to kill himself or force the deputies to do it if he did not receive the medication he demanded. At one point, the suspect moved forward toward Deputy Edge while holding the knife, again saying he wanted officers to kill him. On several occasions the suspect kicked the door of the office and demanded to be let back in.
Deputies were stationed all around the area to prevent the subject from leaving with the knife, as well as all entry ways to the office. EMS personnel were notified and were staged nearby to provide medical aid to the subject, whose self-inflicted wound continued to bleed.
Eventually, deputies were able to deploy a Stinger (a Tazer type device), and the subject was quickly taken into custody. He received medical attention on the scene, and was transported by ambulance to Chatuge Regional Hospital for further treatment of his wounds, as well as a mental health evaluation.
The subject was taken to the Towns County Detention Center and charged with Aggravated Assault on a Peace Officer, and was kept until a bed opened up in a mental health facility. There is a hold on him upon his release from that facility. Other charges are pending through indictment.
Sheriff Clinton, who was involved in the initial contact and remained until the subject was transported to the hospital, was thankful that no one was seriously injured in the incident. “We were able to deploy “less lethal” means to bring this situation to an end. Our deputies and Officer Walls were able to contain the person until personnel arrived who were able to subdue the subject without using deadly force. I am thankful we have law enforcement officers who are capable of showing restraint, and that we have the training and technology available to help us protect the lives of innocent citizens, our deputies and officers, and the suspect.”
