HALL CO. SHERIFF’SOFFICE NARRATIVE:
“Two Braselton men were arrested over the weekend following an altercation during a Friday night traffic accident in the 2000 block of Memorial Park Drive.
A Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputy responded to the scene just before 7:30 p.m. and found a tractor trailer that had attempted a wide right turn into a business driveway; a Dodge pickup truck in the opposite lane of travel had hit the tractor trailer. The Georgia State Patrol was called to investigate the accident.
As the deputy was waiting on troopers to respond, he encountered three occupants of the pickup truck. The preliminary investigation determined one of the pickup truck occupants, later identified as Christopher Douglas Tallent, 29, had been chasing another occupant, a 27-year-old Clarkesville man, with a bowling pin. The deputy attempted to detain Mr. Tallent, who resisted him by trying to twist away from the deputy’s grasp. At that point, a third occupant of the pickup truck, identified as James Preston Leach, 83, attempted to intervene in the arrest of Mr. Tallent. The deputy, who was the only law enforcement officer on the scene at the time, asked Mr. Leach to stop his approach, but Mr. Leach refused. While maintaining his hold on Mr. Tallent, the deputy held out his arm to stop Mr. Leach from coming closer. Mr. Leach stumbled and hit his head on the ground.
Both Mr. Tallent and Mr. Leach were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries. Once they received medical clearance, both were transported to the Hall County Jail. Mr. Tallent was charged with simply battery and obstruction/resisting an officer. Mr. Leach was charged with obstruction/resisting an officer. Both were released from custody on Saturday, Jan. 27.”