HENRY COUNTY (WSLS 10) - "It was to the point it could've in, literally half a second, could've gone the other way," Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry said about Monday afternoon's chase.
Thirty-one-year-old John Adam Richardson was arrested Monday afternoon in the 1700 block of Virginia Avenue after the sheriff's office said he led deputies on a high-speed chase for miles.
A deputy bumped Richardson's car from behind, causing Richardson to spin out right in front of Denny Harris's business.
"[I] saw that they had a guy, a car, pulled over in the middle of the road over here next to the Econo Lodge. Several police officers were trying to get the guy out," Harris recalled.
Perry sais during the chase, Richardson displayed weapons to the deputies and had a gun in his hand and another nearby when the chase ended and deputies rushed up to him to arrest him.
In both instances, the deputies did not open fire on Richardson.
"We have to try to keep the community safe first, then ourselves."
But, he cautioned that deputies will not simply give their life just for the sake of not having to shoot a suspect.
He emphasizes that the public needs to understand that and understand that law enforcement officers have to make split second decisions, so when dealing with law enforcement it always best to cooperate.
"Please do not think every situation can turn out like this," Sheriff Perry said. "We will defend our lives when someone is acting like this."
Richardson is facing 11 charges, including six counts of assault on a law enforcement officer.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning.