VALDOSTA — An officer dealing with a domestic dispute Tuesday wound up being struck by a suspect, police said in a statement released Thursday.
At 9:45 a.m., police headed to a home in the 400 block of Connell Road after someone called 911 to report a family member locking their mother out of her house, according to a Valdosta Police Department statement.
Officers determined that a man had assaulted a family member the night before and locked himself inside the house. Police spoke to the suspect by phone but he refused to come outside and tried to barricade the door, police said.
As police forced their way inside, the suspect ran upstairs to a bathroom where he struck one of the officers, police said. During the resulting struggle, an officer’s uniform and equipment were damaged; following the arrest, the suspect threatened the officers, police said.
The suspect — described as a 36-year-old Valdosta man — is charged with misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor terroristic threats and acts, misdemeanor criminal trespass – damage to property, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer by use of threats and violence and felony interference with government property, police said.
“This offender’s actions were unnecessary. If he would have just complied with our officers, he would have been looking at a misdemeanor charge. Because of his actions, he added two felonies and two other misdemeanor charges. I am thankful that our officers did not get injured,” Police Chief Leslie Manahan said in a statement.