SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office placed a deputy on administrative duty after he and his wife were arrested during a fight outside a South Fulton bar.
The deputy asked an officer to “reconsider” charging him because he worked for the sheriff’s office, according to the arrest warrants.
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South Fulton police charged Bryon Thomas with felony obstruction of law enforcement by use of threats or violence, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. His wife, Antoinette Thomas, was charged with battery against an officer, according to warrants.
According to investigators, officers responded to Harold’s Chicken & Ice Bar just after 2:30 a.m. on Monday about a group of people fighting in the bar’s parking lot.
Police said Bryon Thomas refused to listen when officers told him and others in the group to leave. When officers separated Thomas from the crowd, they forced him onto ground, where the warrant says he continued to resist them.
One of the officers used his Taser, but it didn’t work. The officers struggled with Byron Thomas before he was finally put in handcuffs. The arrest warrant says that one officer had a swollen lip and a second officer hurt his hand during the struggle.
“Mr. Thomas began pleading with me to reconsider charging him with any criminal charges because he is employed as a Deputy Sheriff for the Fulton County Sheriff Office,” one of the officers wrote in the warrant.
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Antoinette Thomas’ arrest warrant says there was video footage of her grabbing the officers trying to detain her husband. It also says she refused to speak with officers.
Channel 2 Action News filed an open records request for the body camera footage. We also received the following statement from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday.
“We are aware of the incident. This is an active investigation by the South Fulton Police Department. The FCSO employee involved has been placed on administrative duties pending an internal investigation,” Director of Communications Natalie Ammons said.
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