Oconee County man, off-duty Athens-Clarke police officer involved in road rage incident
An Oconee County man and an off-duty Athens-Clarke police officer engaged in a road rage incident Wednesday in which the officer drew his firearm.
The incident is still under investigation by the department’s internal affairs division, police spokesman Geoff Gilland said Friday.
No charges have been filed against either the 44-year-old Oconee man or the police sergeant.
The angry driving was reported to police about 7:45 a.m. on the Athens Perimeter near the Atlanta Highway exchange, according to the report.
The Oconee man, driving a white Ram 1500 towing a trailer, reported he called 911 when the other driver pulled a gun on him after both had stopped their vehicles.
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The other man was a police sergeant driving an unmarked vehicle into Athens to report for work, according to police.
The Oconee man became angry when he said the other driver made an improper lane change, which cut him off, then he was brake checked, according to the report.
“So I’m like, then pull over. Let’s talk about your (expletive) driving,” the man told the investigating officer, according to the report.
After the vehicles had stopped, the Oconee man said he got out to ask “why he (expletive) brake-checked me. He pulled a gun on me,” according to the report.
The officer then questioned the off-duty sergeant, who explained he was on his way into Athens when a person “started tailgating his vehicle aggressively and wouldn’t stop.”
The sergeant reported he noticed that the Ram had a license plate that appeared military-related and illustrated with two rifles.
When traffic stopped, the Oconee man jumped out and approached the other driver, according to the report.
The police sergeant reported the other man quickly approached his vehicle.
The "sergeant fearing for his life and not knowing if the driver had a gun, kicked his own door open, pointing his gun at the driver, telling him to go back to his vehicle," the report noted.
A police lieutenant also responded to the scene to assist in the investigation.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Road rage involving Oconee County man and Athens cop under investigation
