A man who was found looking in cars at Zorba’s and tried to get away from officers in Cedartown was chased down and tased during his arrest, according to Cedartown Police reports.
Officers were forced to use a Taser on Joseph Wilhoit, 29, of 206 Howard St., Rockmart, after he fled from officers on foot from the parking lot of the popular Cedartown eatery around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18. (Note: The Cedartown Police Department listed Wilhoit at a Hardin Road address in Cedartown. -KtE)
Per the report, Wilhoit was in the parking lot of Zorba’s looking into the vehicles of patrons and was reported by a caller into 911. Police arrived on the scene and began to question Wilhoit, who then began to back away and fled shouting for police to “leave him alone and get away from him.”
Police tried to stop Wilhoit from taking off on foot down John Phillips Drive toward Wiley Drive, but he made it to the grass at the end of John Phillips Road when an officer caught up with him and grabbed his jacket from his left shoulder.
Wilhoit attempted to spin out and continue the foot chase, but the officer held firm and “I drive stunned Wilhoit with my duty issued taser in his left side.”
One officer who was involved in the chase did suffer an abrasion to his right elbow after he fell in the parking lot of the Tobacco Mart during the foot chase, due to the uneven surface of the parking lot.
The officer immediately got back up after the fall and continued the chase, catching up with the rest of the officers while he was being taken into custody.
Reports stated despite the shock, Wilhoit continued to resist and was finally pinned to the ground and taken into custody. Officers had him cleared at Floyd Polk Medical Center before he was booked into the Polk County Jail.
He remains in the Polk County Jail with a $6,000 bond on felony charges of interference with government property and obstruction of law enforcement officers. He was also charged with misdemeanors for loitering or prowling, public drunkenness, and obstruction of law enforcement officers.
