A man was arrested after he obstructed officials, causing one of them to shoot and injure a Cobb County police officer who attempted to serve the man an arrest warrant at an Austell home, authorities said.
D’Vonte Whitaker, 23, was booked into the Cobb County Detention Center on charges of obstruction of law enforcement, battery, simple battery, criminal trespass and two probation violations, according to jail records. He was wanted on a probation violation charge at the time of Thursday night’s arrest, police said.
About 11:35 p.m., Cobb police were assisting the Georgia Department of Community Supervision (DCS) with serving a warrant in the 700 block of Six Flags Road, Officer Sarah O’Hara confirmed in a news release.
Residents in the home initially told police Whitaker was not there, Channel 2 Action News reported. But a DCS agent found him hiding in the bathroom, O’Hara said.
When the agent attempted to arrest Whitaker, a struggle ensued, and he reached for the agent’s gun, O’Hara said. During the struggle, the gun accidentally went off and a bullet hit a Cobb County police officer in the arm.
The officer was treated and released from WellStar Kennestone Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. An arrest warrant identified the officer as Chris Thompkins, a 20-year police veteran, Channel 2 reported.
Whitaker attempted to run past the DCS agent, but was arrested at the scene.
This is not Whitaker’s first run-in with police officers.
A month before Thursday’s arrest, Whitaker allegedly attacked a woman who was 17 weeks pregnant with his child. He pushed her to the ground and began kicking her in front of her 14-year-old daughter, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is also accused of taking a silver necklace from the woman’s neck and breaking it in the process.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections website, Whitaker served one year and six months at Macon State Prison on a slew of charges including cruelty to children, burglary, theft, possession of marijuana and possession of a weapon during a crime. The crimes were committed in Cobb County between April and June of 2014.
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