According to a Dalton Police Department incident report, On February 26th, 2023, at 3:10 AM, Officer Sosa was patrolling the area of South Glenwood Ave when he noticed a car traveling south without its headlights on. Officer Sosa reported, “When the driver noticed that he was getting stopped, he slowed down and stopped in the right lane of South Glenwood Ave & East Walnut Ave. Then started to pull forward into the intersection and came to a complete stop in front of the traffic light. Then he started to pull forward again and made a right turn coming to a complete stop at the intersection of South Glenwood Ave & East Walnut Ave, blocking traffic that was traveling west on East Walnut Ave. The right front tire of the vehicle was close to the curb and sidewalk.” Officer Sosa then made contact with the driver, identified as Bryson Garrett West, 31, of Calhoun. As the officer was speaking with Bryson, he noticed that he had dark sunglasses on and he was sweating profusely. He also had a white hoodie in his lap. It looked to the officer that he might be trying to conceal something in his lap. When questioned about the sunglasses, he stated, “he likes to look fly when he drives”. When he removed his sunglasses, the officer noticed Bryson’s eyes were dilated. Bryson also showed to have a suspended and expired license. Officer Sosa requested Officer Bethune on the traffic stop due to Bryson’s demeanor and possible impairment based on his erratic stopping, driving without headlights, and wearing sunglasses in the dark. Officers reported that Bryson appeared to be “spaced out” and would look around as if he was unsure of where he was. Officer Sosa reported, “Officer Bethune then asked Bryson again to step out so we could speak outside of the vehicle. Bryson again refused to get out. Bryson continued to ask why he needed to get out. [I] then told him that he had a suspended license. Officer Bethune then opened Bryson’s door and told him to exit the vehicle. Bryson again ignored his command and refused to exit. [I] then grabbed Bryson’s left arm. At this time, he quickly reached into the passenger’s seat and grabbed an item. At the moment, [I] wasn’t sure what he was reaching for. [I] just saw a black item in the passenger seat. Then he pulled away from my grasp, and [I] reached into the car and grabbed his left wrist. [I] then began pulling Bryson and tried to force him out of the vehicle. He then suddenly turned towards officer Bethune. While [I] was holding his left hand, Bryson began swinging violently at both of us with his right hand. Bryson also began kicking with the leg that was outside of the vehicle. At this time, [I] believed that Bryson was going to assault me or Officer Bethune.” Officer Bethune yelled, “Taser taser taser!” and deployed the taser striking him and causing him to become incapacitated. Bryson refused further commands and had to be assisted out of the vehicle. Bryson was eventually placed under arrest. Then Bryson started making odd statements and even began “rapping”. Officer Sosa then informed him that he was in Dalton, GA, after he stated he didn’t know where he was, and he stated he knew better than to come to Dalton. Bryson stated that he “Pled the 5th” when Sergeant Corso attempted to speak with him. Bryson was checked and cleared by EMS. Bryson refused the state test. Bryson was charged with DUI drugs, headlight violation, driving while suspended, and felony obstruction of an officer with threat or violence.
Calhoun man attempts to violently assault Dalton PD officers during early morning DUI traffic stop
