Tennessee cop has panic attack during arrest and fires gun

Daily Mail

A police officer from Tennessee who ended up firing seven shots while arresting a couple then lost his cool and ended up having a panic attack as he was attempting to apprehend the pair.

Deputy Justin Johnson started to hyperventilate after becoming fearful for his life as he tried to arrest Brian Keith Mullinax, 41, and his girlfriend, Tina Carrie Jo Cody, 37.  

The cop could be heard on camera screaming and breathing heavily as he struggled to maintain composure just moments after aimlessly firing off several rounds into a nearby trailer park.

At one point, a paramedic on site insisted Johnson hand over his gun fearing that someone could get shot accidentally while the officer was in such an agitated state.

Body camera footage shows that Johnson ended up being forcibly disarmed by a paramedic.

No mention of the breakdown was written into his report on the December 2016 incident, and he remains on active duty.

It’s not clear whether the sheriff’s office conducted an internal investigation, ordered psychological testing for Johnson, or required him to undergo counseling or additional training.

Mullinax and Cody ended up spending 42 days in jail after being accused of causing a ‘panic attack’ which a detective called ‘some type of cardiac event.’

Cody was unarmed at the time of the incident as she was held on the ground by Johnson and paramedic Blake Gregg.

The video then shows Johnson firing seven shots toward a set of mobile homes before he ran away towards the road.

‘Shots fired,’ he told dispatchers via his radio. ‘We need help!’

Just four minutes later, Johnson, who still had the gun in his hand, began to hyperventilate.

A second paramedic, Michael O’Connor, then ran toward Johnson.

‘Pull it together!’ O’Connor yelled. ‘Look at me!’

‘Give me your gun!’ O’Connor demanded several times, yet as Johnson hyperventilated he maintained his grip on the his gun. ‘Let go of it!’ O’Connor pleaded as he pointed the gun toward Cody, Gregg and the mobile homes.

Eventually, O’Connor eventually wrestled it from his hand.

He had hyperventilated so strongly that one of his contact lens popped out of his eye.

‘Easy, buddy,’ O’Connor said as he tried to calm the officer down. ‘I got it under control. Calm down! It’s OK.’

About 90 seconds after her first began to hyperventilate, Johnson’s breathing slowed and he started to relax a little.

‘I’m OK,’ he insisted. ‘I’m OK!’

The video shows that Mullinax had obeyed Johnson when he was ordered to ground after the officer had fired seven shots and ran away.

In a Sheriff’s Office incident report, Johnson made no mention of the panic attack but said he heard the man yell out that he had a gun so he fired ‘in defense of my life.’

He added he saw Mullinax ‘aiming an object at me’ from the mobile home porch.

Mullinax will stand trial in Sevier County Criminal Court on Tuesday on a charge that he assaulted Johnson.

The couple spent 42 days in jail because they were too poor to post bond and did not get a preliminary hearing within 10 business days as the law requires, records showed. It’s not clear why from those court records.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4993812/Brutal-video-deputy-having-panic-attack-holding-couple.html#ixzz4w2zL0AIv
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4 thoughts on “Tennessee cop has panic attack during arrest and fires gun

  1. Any he still carring a gun only in the USA .dam can’t make this shit up but I do know that someone may die over this man freaking out

  2. “At one point, a paramedic on site insisted Johnson hand over his gun fearing that someone could get shot accidentally while the officer was in such an agitated state.”

    As good an excuse as any they generally come up with.

    They’re always in a state of ‘shoot to kill’.

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