BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The Glynn County Police Department is investigating the "circumstances and sequence of events" of an incident caught on video where a man was thrown to the ground by an officer at a busy intersection in Brunswick Thursday afternoon, according to a news release.
Police say the "physical confrontation" happened at the intersection of Altama Avenue and the Altama Connector.
According to the release, the GCPD officer was at at nearby location and went to the scene after two women reported concerns about a man wearing camouflage and "something red on his head." The women told the officer they were concerned because the man was yelling and cursing while in the roadway, the release states.
When the officer arrived, he approached the man who was standing "dangerously close" to the roadway, the release states, as the man approached the officer while in the roadway despite the officer telling him to stay on the sidewalk.
"The man came within a foot of the officer, which caused the officer to have to extend his arm to create distance between the two of them," the police department said in the release. "The officer attempted to have the man move out of the roadway and out of harm's way to the sidewalk while also attempting to determine if the man needed assistance or may be impaired."
Police say the officer attempted to de-escalate the situation, but efforts were unsuccessful. This led to a verbal confrontation with the man keeping his left hand behind his back and concealed from the officer, according to police.
"The officer was unable to retreat due to concerns over oncoming traffic; during this time the man kept his left hand concealed behind his back," the release states.
The man then began to walk away from the officer, as the officer then attempted to "secure" the man in order to prevent him from possibly walking into traffic, police say. After a brief "struggle," the two men released each other, but the man continued to verbally confront the officer while the officer radioed for additional support to come to the scene, the release states.
While the officer was calling for backup, police say the man grabbed the officer with his right hand, then released him, and then used his right hand to "make a signal that the officer feared may be a signal for other people to come to his assistance and potentially overwhelm the officer."
"At this point the officer again took hold of the man and ordered him to put his hands behind his back," the police department said in the release. "Despite this, the man resisted and again grabbed the officer who responded by taking the man to the ground. Once on the ground, the man hit the officer in the face and began reaching for items on the officer's duty belt."
The officer continued his efforts to secure the man and keep the man's hands away from the officer's duty belt, the release states. Police say the struggle continued in the roadway and at this time, the officer deployed his taser.
"One of the taser prongs struck the man but the second did not rendering the taser ineffective; the physical struggle continued, and the officer was able to roll the man over on the ground," the police department said in the release.
At this time, according to police, an off-duty officer from Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms arrived on scene and helped the officer secure and handcuff the man.
Once the man was "secured," his mother arrived on scene, police say. She told officers that her son suffers from "severe mental illness" and officers learned that he had previously been charged with crimes related to obstruction and fighting with officers, the release states.
The man was taken to the Glynn County Detention Center where he became "verbally aggressive," but did not become physically aggressive, according to police.
The unidentified man faces one felony charge of obstruction or hindering a law enforcement officer, the release states, as the incident is under an active investigation.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the Glynn County Police Department's non-emergency number at 912-554-3645 or to report anonymously, call Silent Witness at 912-264-1333.
