Officer Involved Brawl in Bells Causes Controversy
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BELLS, Tenn. — An officer and a wanted man get into a fight after a routine traffic stop in Bells. Witnesses said they believe the officer was too rough on the man, but another officer said he did the right thing to put the criminal behind bars. “I remember hearing Antonio screaming and crying asking him to stop,” Latoya Love, a witness who captured the incident on camera, said. “He said ‘man I’m not resisting, would you please stop’ and he said ‘stop resisting, be still’,” Bells Police officer Andrew Hackett said after stopping a car for speeding he realized Antonio Reed was in the passenger’s seat. Officer Hackett knew Reed was wanted in Crockett and Madison counties on various drug charges. Officer Hackett said when he asked Reed to step out of the car, things took a turn. “There was a little scuffle, but after the little scuffle he just started tasing him, he wasn’t even far back,” Shakara Mathis, the driver of the car, said. Some witnesses said they thought Reed was trying to run. They said after the first tase, Reed fell to the ground, injuring his face. Officer Hackett said he tased him again on the lower back and one more time on his shoulder. “He wasn’t resisting him, he was just laying there. He couldn’t move, he was crying and screaming and asking them to please stop,” Love said. Hackett said Reed was taken in a patrol car to the hospital to remove a taser prong from his neck. “I mean he had to do it once. That’s your job. You are a police officer, you are here to protect the community, not to hurt the community,” Love said. Reed is now jailed on a count of resisting arrest. Police said Reid has a lengthy criminal record with charges like drug sales, escaping from jail and failing to pay child support.
