Police Report on Incident in Lawsuit
Uncategorized June 26, 2017
After combing through the Lawsuit filed by Terry Cantrell, FYN takes a closer look at the Police Report and Dash Cam Footage of the involved incident.
The Incident Report filed with the Police states that Officer Brady Dover was patrolling down River Street when he noticed a dark in color pickup truck fail to maintain its lane by crossing over the fog line and partially into a parking lot. As he followed the vehicle, he initiated a traffic stop, activating his blue lights.
According to the report, after the driver failed to stop, he followed him onto North Avenue in Downtown Ellijay, and then onto McCutchen Street in front of the Ellijay Elementary School and Ellijay Primary School. At this point the driver dramatically increased his speed to a point where Officer Dover had to increase to 55 mph to avoid losing the suspect.
One can see in the dash-cam footage, as the suspect came off the bridge on McCutchen Street, the suspect nearly ran head-on into another vehicle exiting Harrison Park before traveling through the field and crashing into a small creek on the east side of the park.
An Accident Report also indicates he struck two wooden posts that blocked vehicles from entering the field.
The incident report states the suspect exited his vehicle on foot, at which point Officer Dover pursued the suspect, yelling at him to stop.
Pursuing the suspect through the wooded area, a field, and back onto McCutchen Street, Officer Dover once pulled his firearm after noticing “a large knife on his side.” Yelling at him again to stop, the suspect continued fleeing. Continuing his pursuit, the report states Officer Dover heard a second officer, Sergeant Brian Troglin, “give a loud verbal command.”
Sgt. Troglin’s report states that he noticed “a knife approximately 6″ in length on his right hip in a case,” emerged from his vehicle, and yelled, “hold up” at the suspect.
The report also states Sgt. Troglin saw Officer Trevor McClure tackle the suspect with a shoulder tackle.
Officer McClure’s report stated:
AS I QUICKLY CLOSED DISTANCE BETWEEN MYSELF AND MR. CANTRELL, I HEARD SGT. TROGLIN YELL, “WATCH OUT FOR THAT KNIFE,” AND OBSERVED THE KNIFE ON MR. CANTRELL’S RIGHT HIP. I SLOWED DOWN, SLIGHTLY, AND REACHED FOR MY SERVICE WEAPON. AT THIS TIME I WAS APPROXIMATELY FIVE TO SIX FEET FROM MR. CANTRELL’S LOCATION. AS HE TURNED TO FACE ME, I REALIZED THAT I WAS TOO CLOSE TO ATTEMPT TO STOP AND DRAW MY WEAPON. IN ORDER TO PREVENT MR. CANTRELL FROM CONTINUING TO FLEE OR ATTEMPTING TO DRAW HIS KNIFE, I DELIVERED A SHOULDER TACKLE, WRAPPING MY ARMS AROUND MR. CANTRELL’S BACK, AND TOOK HIM TO THE GROUND. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED MR. CANTRELL INTO THE PRONE AND BEGAN HANDCUFFING HIM. AS I TURNED HIM, I NOTICED THAT HIS BODY WAS LIMP AND THAT HE WAS BLEEDING FROM THE BACK OF HIS HEAD. AFTER HANDCUFFING MR. CANTRELL, I SECURED THE KNIFE FROM IT’S SHEATH ON HIS BELT AND HANDED IT TO SGT. TROGLIN.
A second dash-cam footage shows the officer tackling the suspect to the ground, who was then identified as Terry Cantrell.
Sgt. Troglin’s Report states he noticed Cantrell’s head bleeding, called for an ambulance, and instructed Officer McClure to “get the male off his back, put him on his side, and secure his neck.”
According to photographs of the scene, Cantrell had beer cans in the vehicle. He also registered a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.139 according to GBI Crime Lab results by Gas Chromatography.
FYN also noted seven citations from the incident including Striking a fixed object, Reckless driving, Driving while License was Suspended/Revoked, DUI, Failure to stop at a Stop/Yield sign, Failure to Maintain Lane, and Fleeing/Attempting to elude Police.
14 Comments
UGA could use that kind of tackle this season! Wow!
I don’t think that was a shoulder tackle, if it had been, he might not have hit his head on the pavement!
I have lived in Ellijay for ten years. There has always been a heavy police presence. Every time I go into town, I see at least one patrol car, often many cars. In fact, in one day, within a one-hour period, I saw five police cars and took pictures of four cars. Why do we need an officer on nearly every corner when our total population is below 30,000 people?
I have never been law enforcement’s “target,” but I know many young people who have been treated unfairly in this town. In fact, there are so many charges pending against residents or tourists that it takes at least two years to go before a judge. In the end, many people take some sort of plea deal just to put an end to the ordeal. Meanwhile, the county holds the family’s assets or the defendant remains in jail.
I regret that this happened to this man. In the video, I see a man who is staggering and holding his hands up before he is brutally knocked to the ground. MANY officers are walking around with no concern for the man’s medical condition. If you are familiar with Ellijay, you know that this incident took place very close to the fire station. Yet, paramedics did not arrive for 16 minutes. (I am not criticizing the paramedics. I think the police placed emphasis on the “criminal” aspect of the situation.)
As a community, we need to ask ourselves if we want to be known as a town that supports predatory law enforcement. This man almost paid the ultimate price for our continued support of the Ellijay Police Dept., the East Ellijay Police Depart., and the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Depart. I hope this man wins his case. I also encourage everyone to file an open records request for any videos of their interactions with law enforcement. You do not have to be an attorney do get police videos and reports. Your freedom and financial security may depend on it.
Note: I watched the video a second time. The lack of regard for this man’ s well being is truly disturbing. If you, Mr. Jones, thinks it is funny, remember a little thing called KARMA. You may not think you, your children, or your grandchildren could do something STUPID that results in the police over reacting, but you are DEAD wrong. It happens every day to people of ALL races. The shear number of police officers and sheriff’s deputies in this town puts us at a much higher risk of being victimized by over zealous officers. Look at the video again, some officers have smiles on their faces. Eight officers are visible. I am certain more were present. It took 16 minutes for a paramedic to arrive. What if you or another loved one had a medical emergency, would you rather see eight cops or eight paramedics? I’ll take the paramedics any day. Remember, the citizens of Gilmer County pay for public services. We should determine how our tax dollars are spent. I don’t need a cop around every corner to feel “safe.” In fact, I fear the officers in this town, and I have NEVER been arrested. I feel like a little mouse who is always looking for the prowling cat. By the way, did anyone notice the HANDICAPPED tag on the man’s car? It takes a sick son-of-a-B to take any sense of pride in nearly killing a handicapped man who has his HANDS UP.
Another day has passed, and I am still outraged. I think the lack of response is due to lack of education. Have you asked yourself the following questions:
What makes police think they can get away with excessive force, false arrest, negligence, etc.?
To get the answer simply Google: civilrights.findlaw.com
Basically, overcoming their “immunity” from prosecution is difficult.
What do the police have to gain from preying on their own citizens?
To get the answer simply Google: How Police Officers Seize Cash From Innocent Americans.
Also, Google: The Feds Just Restricted The Law That Lets Police Officers Seize Stuff From Innocent People
Also, go to the Gilmer County Court House one day and watch bonds being forfeited left and right. That is because it takes years to get a hearing, especially if you have a public defender. Let’s face it, most young people in this town cannot afford an attorney. Instead of hiring more public defenders to help citizens get “justice,” the elected officials in this town hire more cops as if the city is not crawling with them.
Okay, I’m sorry, but am I the ONLY person commenting on this? I am a HUGE advocate for law enforcement. I sincerely appreciate all that they do and risk every day, but this is outrageous! A few things seriously bother me about this. First and foremost, why did they assume in the very beginning that this couldn’t have possibly been a medical emergency? There’s wayyyyy too many conflicts in all of this. According to the dash cam video AND the officers reports the knife the victim was carrying on his belt was always secured in it’s sheath. Cantrell never even considered taking it out. I fully get that the officers didn’t want to take a chance about the knife, but I don’t see how the one officer could’ve possibly estimated that it was six inches from where he was. Officer McClure’s statement simply DOES NOT match what was seen in the video. At that point, before the GBI crime lab determined he was in fact DUI, Officer McClure STILL didn’t know if Cantrell was acting irradict from a medical condition or not. In any event, it hardly matters since Officer McClure jumped from the car and never missed a step as he sped directly into the staggering Cantrell slamming him into the road nearly killing him. This is OUTRAGEOUS! Officer McClure was over zealous at minimum and used extreme brute force that was not warranted. I pray that this man heals and finds treatment for his addiction. I feel like the other Officers followed protocol, but Officer McClure has got to go! He is a liability to the City of Ellijay. I pray that he is not out patrolling now. If dashcam video had not been available and he were the ONLY Officer there with Mr. Cantrell, I fear what else might have happened. It’s my perspective, but I wouldn’t want to be on that jury because I’d award him every single penny.
BLISSFUL IGNORANCE IS ABOUT TO COST THIS TOWN DEARLY!!!!!
Margaret, I have tried to back you up and enlighten others who think this is okay. You hit the nail on the head when you said addiction is a disease. I do NOT have addiction issues, but I am close to people who struggle with it. With no insurance, you cannot get APPROPRIATE treatment. When addicts with no insurance manage to get a bed in a hospital, they are released in 3 to 5 days. They do not even have time to get sober.
This is especially concerning considering almost 60,000 people in the U.S.A. died from drug overdoses last year. That number is expected to exceed 60,000 this year. That means that within the next five years more than 1/4 of a million people will have died from a treatable disease. It is a national crisis. It is SHAMEFUL that we are not doing more to help our fellow citizens. I get sick of people who wear little braces that have WWJD engraved on them or people who wear crosses with no TRUE understanding of Jesus. During his short time on Earth, Jesus healed many people. He taught us to have compassion for others.
This guy is an idiot, but watch the cam footage that shows the tackle and it was completely unnecessary. Guy had his hands up, not aggressive at all, no threat. Read the police report and you’d think it’s completely reasonable, but seeing is believing – and the tackle footage says it all.
Yet the other cam shows what a dangerous idiot the guy was in driving through town. A true menace, and it pisses me off. MAYBE you think he deserved a tackle and a butt kickin for that. You’re not a cop, though, and if you are you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking that way. The job of the police is not “law enforcement” where they get to execute the punishment right there, yet far too many cops seem to want to let that out and cover for each other when they do. Letting police aggression go because the subject might have “deserved it” and the officer’s adrenaline was pumping – that’s a prime reason we have a police violence problem in this country now.
All issues of color aside, we do have a serious problem of overly violent police tactics used on citizens that are not true threats. Take em to the ground, smash their face into the cement, twist their arm up behind their back and to justify the aggression yell “stop resisting” as the person is in intense pain. It’s ridiculous but seems commonly accepted. I believe most cops are great people doing an amazing job, and I don’t want to see any of them getting hurt by being too soft and letting a threat catch them off guard. But some of their “control the situation” tactics seem to go from treating people as a citizen to be respected to flip a switch and suddenly that citizen is a threat to be neutralized. Get adrenaline pumping and a gung ho “enforcer” attitude, and things turn out very badly for folks police tag as “bad guys” – who are often really just idiots or having emotional issues. It’s shameful that the result is folks ending up dead, or seriously injured as happened to this guy.
Of note, this all derived from a traffic stop. The amount of cops patrolling around Ellijay middle of day looking for traffic problems to cite is ridiculous. It’s a completely inappropriate level of visible police presence for such a small town. Want to make sure you intimidate the criminals? There’s that bully attitude again. It’s protect and serve, not command and control.
WOW Mark! Perfectly stated and I agree a million percent! The abundance of Police presence and constant traffic stops for tiny infractions is definitely at an all time high. What happened? This has a Police State presence feel to it more than ever and I have found it alarming for such a small town. I’ve lived here 22 years and my husband a native to Ellijay. Bad news for sure.
This really, really disturbs me. Mr. Cantrell is a local that is probably well known to most of law enforcement, he was not a threat. He had his hands up in the air for goodness sake! Yes, Mr. Cantrell was wrong and he did break the law but he did NOT deserve that kind of treatment. We are all human, we all bleed red, and we ALL make mistakes. Does that mean when we screw up that we deserve whatever we get? It is really scary that so many people seem to feel that way. What is even more disturbing is the seeming lack of concern while Mr. Cantrell lay on the ground unconscious and bleeding. What if that were your son, your brother, your father? I sincerely hope that our local law enforcement will make the necessary changes to ensure that this never happens again. Addiction is a disease, not just someone being an idiot. Drug addiction has increased by leaps and bounds in our country and in our county. But guess what? These drug addicts are people too, they need help, not just be abused and swept under the rug. Bottom line is this= he had his hands up in the air, Mr. McClure’s behavior seems excessive, and his behavior afterwards seems heartless. I definitely think that Mr. Cantrell has a really good case, the dash cam video says it all.
I have zero issue with how this was handled by the police. Number 1, the guy should have just pulled over and never tried to outrun a police cruiser. Number 2, why would you go around with a 6 inch knife strapped to your leg unless you’re in the middle of the woods cleaning a fish or field dressing a deer? Number 3, it was obvious to the officers that this guy was high, intoxicated, or crazy. Anyone with a medical emergency would’ve headed towards the ER or STOPPED for the police! The officer executed a shoulder tackle which they are trained to do. He then turned the guy over and cuffed him. No punching, no kicking, no foul play. They called for an ambulance which arrived within minutes and treated him. You folks can gripe about the police being brutal or being cocky or anything else but the fact is that they want to go home at the end of the day just like the rest of us. They are underpaid and underappreciated. I doubt any of you would be defending this fellow had he swerved into oncoming traffic and killed a family in a mini van but he walks away without a scratch…Please…
Ed, being a police officer is not an easy job and being a soldier in the military is not an easy job. However, if your so paranoid about being injured that you slam a small, intoxicated, handicapped man’s head on the asphalt, you need to resign. You don’t have the self-control required to be a GOOD police officer.
When you become an officer or a soldier, you know that you are putting your life on the line. My son-in-law has been a firefighter/paramedic since he graduated from high school, which was 15 years ago. He knows that he could lose his life in the line of duty. The difference between firefighters/paramedics and police officers is that firefighters/paramedics arrive on the scene to HELP you. Police officers are just trying to make a buck off you. It is a legal shack down.
Also, I have taught science in the Atlanta area and in an alternative school setting. You can’t just smack a kid around or file false charges against him because he says, “F–k you.” It happens every day in high schools across the country and all that ever happens to these kids is a slap on the wrist. Then, the teacher gets a lecture about making his/her lesson engaging. I even had a principle tell me he expected a “dog and pony show” every time he walked in my classroom. I basically told him that I did not have to put up with his sh-t to his face. Thank God, that I am not in a position that I have to sell my soul to the devil. When you continue to go along with anything that you know is wrong for a paycheck, you have sold your soul.
Another thing, your living in the past. This day and time, you are more likely to be killed by someone using a cell phone in the car than a drunk driver. I gave my grand daughter’s mother a Jeep to help her out. She totaled it within a year. She was reaching for her cellphone, crossed the yellow line, and hit a truck head on. Thank God she and my granddaughter were not hurt. Even the Department of Motor Vechicles indicates fatalities are on the rise due to cell phone use.
By the way, the reason I intertwined teaching and law enforcement is both professions have issues for different reasons. For instance, I spent six years in college to become an educator. Yet, the system continues to demand more and more from me and my colleagues. We are constantly required to participate in professional development. There is always room for growth. Yet, students are not expected to show teachers an ounce of respect. I am not kidding, these kids throw the F word around like it is nothing. They stay up all night using their cellphones; therefore, they cannot concentrate during the day. The school sells soda and junk food in the hallways, which makes ADD and all other issues worse. Then, teachers are expected to make “magic” happens when it comes to passing students who lack basic reading, writing, and math skills. The bottom line is the statistics need to impress the governing bodies and revenue needs to flow into the system.
On the other hand, a person who is 18-years-of-age, a United States citizen, a high school graduate, and has a clean criminal history can become a police officer with 11-weeks of training. The course cost $3,8000. To me, that is very little training to have the “power” to arrest other citizens. These arrests, which are often unwarranted, change people’s lives forever. They result in “criminal” histories. Even if the district attorney and a judge agree to expunge the record, police officers have access to it forever and ever. Therefore, a person who ticked off a police officer could be charged with “felony assault on a police officer.” Even if the incident was caught on video and it clearly shows that the “criminal” was laughing at the officer, and the judge dismisses the charge as soon as he watches the video, this person is screwed. Forever and ever, every police officer who comes in contact with this person sees him/her as a “threat.” If you think this is an isolated incident, your wrong.
Recap, after attending college for six years to teach, I can be sued and /or terminated for any little thing that OFFENDS a student or a parent. That is why smart teachers are members of professional organizations that employ a team of attorneys. On the other hand, a police officer who had eleven-weeks of training has “immunity” to prosecution. He/she can harass me, bring false charges against me, put me in jail, and even maim or kill me. The burden is on me or my family to prove that his actions were egregious and/or malicious to overcome his “immunity” to prosecution. A big hmm!
Also, just for fun, twenty-five-years ago, my husband and I took BASIC self-defense classes from a 7th-degree black belt. It is NOT difficult to disarm a person without using excessive force. Police officers should continually study martial arts to learn how to use the LEAST amount of force to restrain a citizen. However, they would rather ride around eating donuts and drinking coffee. As long as they continue to bring in revenue for the county, who cares? Law enforcement in Gilmer County and other places is a racket.
Lesson: Graduate from high school, don’t get arrested, take an eleven-week course, and you can be a proud member of law enforcement. You will have Power over your fellow citizens!
Go to college for four to six years to be an educator and be a doormat.
I have lived in Ellijay for ten years. There has always been a heavy police presence. Every time I go into town, I see at least one patrol car, often many cars. In fact, in one day, within a one-hour period, I saw five police cars and took pictures of four cars. Why do we need an officer on nearly every corner when our total population is below 30,000 people?
I have never been law enforcement’s “target,” but I know many young people who have been treated unfairly in this town. In fact, there are so many charges pending against residents or tourists that it takes at least two years to go before a judge. In the end, many people take some sort of plea deal just to put an end to the ordeal. Meanwhile, the county holds the family’s assets or the defendant remains in jail.
I regret that this happened to this man. In the video, I see a man who is staggering and holding his hands up before he is brutally knocked to the ground. MANY officers are walking around with no concern for the man’s medical condition. If you are familiar with Ellijay, you know that this incident took place very close to the fire station. Yet, paramedics did not arrive for 16 minutes. (I am not criticizing the paramedics. I think the police placed emphasis on the “criminal” aspect of the situation.)
As a community, we need to ask ourselves if we want to be known as a town that supports predatory law enforcement. This man almost paid the ultimate price for our continued support of the Ellijay Police Dept., the East Ellijay Police Depart., and the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Depart. I hope this man wins his case. I also encourage everyone to file an open records request for any videos of their interactions with law enforcement. You do not have to be an attorney do get police videos and reports. Your freedom and financial security may depend on it.