An altercation between Flowery Branch police officers and a man they stopped for a traffic violation could have turned out much worse than it did - even though the suspect managed to grab an officer's Taser during the incident.
Chris Hulsey, the Interim Chief for the Flowery Branch Police Department, said the incident happened Monday, April 12 around 1 p.m. on Thurmon Tanner Parkway near Tree Park Apartments. The two officers stopped James Alva Mimbs of Nicholson when they noticed the registration on his vehicle was suspended.
"When [one] officer approached the driver of the vehicle, as soon as he [the driver] rolled the window down, he could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, so he asked the driver to step out of the vehicle," Hulsey said.
Once Mimbs was out of the car, he ran, according to Hulsey. The officers caught him, but that's when the incident escalated.
"There was a struggle and the gentleman claimed that he had a gun in his waistband - he had both hands in the front of his waistband - appeared to be trying to pull the weapon out," Hulsey said.
At that point, one officer drew his weapon and the other used his Taser to try to subdue Mimbs.
"It didn't phase this gentleman," Hulsey said. In fact, Mimbs was able to get the Taser away from the officer and deploy it on the officer.
Ultimately, the officers were able to get control of Mimbs, and that's when they discovered he did not have a gun in his possession. Hulsey commended his officers for using restraint during a tense situation.
"The officer asked 'where's your gun, where's the gun?' and [that's when] he says 'I really don't have one. I just wanted y'all to shoot me.'" Hulsey said.
Hulsey said he and the department reviewed the incident in a debriefing on Tuesday and discussed how to even better use de-escalation techniques when trying to subdue unruly suspects.
Hulsey said both officers sustained some bumps and bruises during the scuffle, but their injuries were not serious.
Mimbs was taken to the Hall County Jail where he remains on a long list of charges, including methamphetamine possession, obstruction of an officer and removal of a weapon from an officer.
