Editors Note: Police reports from ERPD will from time to time appear under this headline. These reports will be ones that are a little out of the ordinary from the the Police Briefs which East Ridge News Online has run since the inception of the Website. The stories appearing under the headline are not intended to embarrass, denigrate or discourage citizens from calling for help, only to illustrate the extreme and sometimes bizarre range of calls that East Ridge’s Finest are called in on to sort out. The headline reflects the question that dispatchers ask when a person calls for help from law enforcement authorities.

_ 3725 Fountain Ave.: Early Friday morning officers were dispatched to the apartments located at the address in reference to a domestic assault investigation. According to a police report, during the 911 call the dispatcher reported hearing the following: “He is saying he has been assaulted … sounds like they are fighting over the phone. Male said she bit him in his junk. I could hear the female say and I’ll do it again.”

When police arrived the officer made contact with Pierre James and Jasmine Bell, both of whom appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. The report states that Bell’s pants were unzipped as if they were put on in a hurry. The officer tried to speak with Bell to get her side of the story, but according to the report, “she kept going around in circles.” 

The officer spoke with James who said the couple had just gotten into a verbal argument over “financial issues.” When the officer confronted James with what was said on the 911 recording, he changed his story and said that he and Bell were engaged in sexual activities when she bit him. The report states that James told police he was “shocked” by this act but wouldn’t advise what went on further from this point. He did said that  it was important enough to mention and for police to know about.

The report states that police spoke with a witness in a nearby apartment. The witness told the officer that Bell showed up completely naked to his residence asking to use the phone to call 911. The witness said he left the apartment and went downstairs to avoid further embarrassment for himself and Bell. The witness went on to tell police that Bell jumped from the top floor to the stairs leading to the bottom level to “go after James” after he tried to remove himself from the situation. The witness said that Bell was punching James and pulling on his “dreads.”

The report states that police once again attempted to speak with James regarding the newly discovered facts and he denied them and told police to take him to jail instead of Bell. Police again tried to speak with Bell but she would not cooperate.

According to the report, after reviewing all the evidence, officers concluded that Bell was the primary aggressor. As officers attempted to take Bell into custody, she began yelling and screaming in the parking lot “causing annoyance and alarm in the multi-unit apartment complex at 1 a.m. in the morning.”

Bell then started kicking a police officer as other officers were trying to subdue her and take her into custody, the report states. Bell, 24, was charged with Domestic Assault and Disorderly Conduct.

At that point, police told James several times to stay in his apartment. The report states that James emerged on the balcony of his apartment and began “hollering at police in a loud and annoying manner.” According to the report, James was taken into custody without incident for Disorderly Conduct.

_ Ringgold Rd.: Last Thursday afternoon a police officer saw a man pedaling his bicycle down the city’s main highway with a window air conditioning unit on his handle bars. According to a police report, the officer made contact with the man on Burns Avenue. The man asked the officer not to run his name and began crying.

The report states that “due to his statement and body language, I place the man into handcuffs and advised him he was only being detained until I was able to identify him.” The man identified himself as Jerry Cox and dispatch confirmed that he had several warrants with Hamilton County. When the officer searched Cox’s person, he found a Tennessee Benefit Security Card belonging to a D. Metcalf. When asked about the card, Cox told the officer that he bought $16 worth of food stamps from the man.

The report states that the officer placed the card into evidence. The homeless, 31-year-old Cox, was released to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and he was taken to the jail. Cox had outstanding warrants for violation of probation for domestic assault and vandalism and for failure to appear.