A man who police had talked to several times in the past about his behavior was jailed following a traffic stop on Wednesday, and struggled with officers for no apparent reason.
Rockmart Police took Earnest Hilliard McMillian, 65, of 1 Walton Way, Rockmart into custody during a traffic stop on the evening of Wednesday, May 26 around 7 p.m. when officers caught up with his vehicle at the intersection of Ivy and Sciple streets.
According to a lengthy item from the Rockmart Police on his arrest, McMillian has in the past been cited in at least five different reports over the past year of sitting in the SunTrust Bank parking lot watching a pair of East Elm Street residents he claims are drug traffickers. When sought for additional information, Rockmart Police reported no evidence they have found to support those claims whatsoever.
When the latest call came into police at McMillian sitting in the parking lot watching the East Elm Street pair, officers arrived and told the Elm Street residents to call back if his behavior continued, and went back out on patrol.
The reporting officer stated that one of the pair called back to report that McMillian drove by their residence and honked his horn. In the meantime, another officer pulled him over at the intersection of Ivy and Sciple streets.
Police reported they talked to Ernest, who pushed his claim he was watching the two selling drugs in plain view on the street and had been for some time despite there being no evidence to back up his behavior.
“(McMillian) continued speaking and stated that he does not apologize for going up there (to the residence) when my partner was checking out the people that lived there,” the report stated. “I (reporting officer) informed (McMillian) that I was the one who had responded to the residence.”
He didn’t remember the officer during the previous incidents either, and when police found he already had an active warrant for his arrest took him into custody.
While being placed in the back of the patrol vehicle, McMillian began to resist by refusing to allow officers to help into the vehicle and was believed to be feigning pains in his leg when he avoided being dragged into the back seat while still cuffed.
Eventually he got in, and then complained of having a stroke in the back seat of the vehicle while on the way to jail. Police pulled over and EMS arrived to help, and they briefly checked him over and asked if he wanted to go to the hospital or jail. McMillian was reported to have chosen jail.
When he arrived for booking, jail staff attempted to pull him out of the vehicle and he resisted a second time until they finally got him out. A jail nurse checked his vitals following his complaint on the way to jail of having a stroke, and found he was fine.
McMillian remained in the Polk County Jail on misdemeanor charges of two counts of stalking, one count of obstruction of law enforcement officers and a bench warrant.
Bond had not yet been set as of this posting on the charges.
