A veteran Atlanta policeman is in jail after a domestic dispute and brief stand-off with police at his DeKalb County home.
William Robert Brown, 56, was arrested on charges of simple battery after an argument Sunday morning with his girlfriend allegedly turned violent.
Around 9 a.m., police were called to Brown’s home in the 3600 block of John Carrol Drive in southwest DeKalb.
The woman told police Brown pushed her to the ground during their argument, according to police reports.
She said the couple had argued the night before about another woman and Brown left the house. When he returned, they continued arguing.
When she was pushed, she told police the two continued to argue as Brown went into another room and she sat at the top of the stairs.
She told police she heard a gunshot from another room, but didn’t see Brown fire a weapon. She also told police he was holding an assault rifle when she heard the single shot, but couldn’t determine if that was the gun fired.
Police said Brown told his girlfriend to go to the basement. When he told her, according to police reports, that he “was not afraid to die" and he "would shoot any police officer that came to the location,” she pretended to comply with his instructions, then ran outside to call for help.
DeKalb police arrived at the home and attempted to call Brown. He didn’t answer, and Atlanta police and APD Internal Affairs officers were called to the scene.
Neighbor Robert James said he didn't hear any gunfire Sunday.
"But when I came outside, officers were out there and told me to go back into my house," James told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Police found the girlfriend took her to a nearby precinct for questioning. About an hour after police were called, police saw Brown run from the house.
“It looked like he came out of the house,” James said. “But I couldn’t tell where he went afterward.”
WSB-TV is reporting that Brown was interviewed by Atlanta police before turning himself in to DeKalb County police.
Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos said Brown has been placed on paid suspension, pending an investigation by the department’s office of professional standards.
Brown remains in the DeKalb County jail on $10,000 bond.
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