The Lafayette Police Department, Macon County Sheriff's Department, and Macon County Constable Barry Newberry, responded mid-day Friday to a report of a possible altercation involving a man wielding a tire iron in the Save-a-Lot parking lot.
When law enforcement arrived, the suspect ran into the woods behind the stores, according to witnesses.
Georgia Brown, of 240 Cedar Cove Lane, identified Cecil Estell, 241 Cedar Cove Lane, as the target of the search, and herself as Estell's care giver.
The object witnesses thought was a tire iron was reported, by Brown, to be Estell's broken walking cane.
Georgia Brown watched as LPD Sergeant Ray Amalfitano, and Constable Barry Newberry searched the woods for Estell.
Prior to Cecil Estell's arrival in the Save-a-Lot parking lot, he had become upset during a counseling appointment at the Department of Human Services, located at 315 Highway 52 By-Pass E., according to Georgia Brown.
Estell reportedly struck a desk and broke his cane when Eugene Smith, MA, told him to take a seat for the counseling session, according to Brown who had driven Estell to the scheduled... appointment.
Brown maintains Estell reacted to Smith's telling him to sit rather than asking if he would like to be seated.
After breaking his cane, Estell ran from the Department of Human Services building, headed in the direction of Save-a-Lot, according to Brown's account of the events.
Georgia Brown and Cecil Estell are Cedar Cove Lane neighbors; and they were married at
one time. Now divorced, Brown reportedly functions in the role of care giver, assisting Mr. Estell with health care and appointments.
Estell was apprehended without incident and taken to Valley Ridge Mental Health Center, by LPD Sergeant Amalfitano; but the situation reportedly escalated upon arrival at Valley Ridge.
“When we were getting Estell out of the car, he saw Barry Newberry and called him something, and told him to stay away,” LPD Sergeant Ray Amalfitano recalled.
Georgia Brown then confronted Newberry and struck the constable, according to Sergeant Amalfitano.
Brown admits to the confrontation, but does not recall striking the constable.
“Cecil looked back and saw Barry Newberry and yelled, ‘stay away from me you car thief!' I stepped in front of Barry Newberry and put my finger in his face and told him, ‘you stay away because you're the reason he's upset'; but he just had to keep coming. Then Newberry claimed I slapped and kicked him,” Georgia Brown explained.
“Then Ray Amalfitano sneaks up behind me and says, ‘you're under arrest'. He pulled my arms behind me and put cuffs on me,” Georgia Brown continued.
Sergeant Amalfitano alleges Brown struck him in the mouth and bit him as he attempted to take her into custody; and Brown admits to biting the sergeant.
“The brick column scraped my face, and I'm pretty sure I bit him; then he put his knee on my back and took me to the ground,” Brown alleged.
The care giver reports her blood pressure was “off the wall”; she had not eaten for over seven hours; her fingers were numb, the nerves in her legs hurt so badly she couldn't walk; and she states her repeated requests to have the handcuffs removed were ignored.
Sheriff's Deputy Ira Meador was also on the scene and reportedly assured Georgia Brown her son would be taken to his grandmother's home.
“That nice deputy is the only one who was kind to me,” Brown recalled.
Georgia Brown's request for medical attention was honored, and she was taken to the emergency room, according to Sergeant Amalfitano.
“One of the nurses told me she saw [Brown] hitting her wrist with the back of her watch until her wrist was swollen,” the sergeant reported.
Photographs taken at the time of Brown's arrest show her hair disheveled, scrapes on her face and her right hand in a splint.
“I'm not a criminal; I pay taxes; they did the wrong thing arresting me,” Brown declared.
Georgia Brown, who alleges excessive force was used during her arrest, was released from the Macon County Jail under $5,000 bond; and she is scheduled to face charges of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest in General Sessions Court August 1.
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