Days before death, fallen Bibb deputy collared Waffle House troublemaker

Waitresses at downtown Macon’s Waffle House were so fond of Bibb County sheriff’s deputy T.J. Freeman that six or seven of them attended his funeral the other day. Freeman, 29, a narcotics investigator and a SWAT officer, was killed in a May 5 car chase. When he was off duty, he worked as a weekend-night security man at the restaurant, which overlooks Riverside Drive near Spring Street. Workers there said he liked the sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches, which he washed down with Mr. Pibb. Freeman had a midnight-to-5 a.m. shift at the diner, which is a wee-hours gathering place when bars let out on Friday and Saturday nights. On occasion, trouble shows up. About 3 a.m. on April 23, Freeman was outside keeping an eye on things from his car when he noticed a man step out of another car. The man was drinking a Corona beer. Freeman walked over and told the man he couldn’t drink there. The man, 31, looked at Freeman and cussed him, saying, “Get the … out of here.” Freeman then asked to see the guy’s driver’s license. Freeman, in his report — which was meticulous and a testament to the observant and squared-away cop that colleagues say he was — was sure to note what the man said next. “He stated that he was the designated driver and that he had quit drinking earlier,” Freeman wrote. “I advised him that he still had the beer from which he was drinking in his hand. He stated that I was doing too much.” Then the man handed over his license. Freeman went to his car to call for an on-duty officer. While Freeman was in the car, the man walked over. “You are doing too (expletive) much,” the man complained, cussing some more and saying he was leaving. Freeman told the guy he wasn’t going anywhere. “I can go where I want and you can’t stop me,” the man said. Freeman asked the man to assume the arrest position, to put his hands behind him. But the man broke free. By then another deputy had arrived, and that officer fired his Taser at the man. The device’s prongs missed the man, but proved enough of a distraction for Freeman to corral the man. Freeman grabbed him from behind and clutched his shoulders. The “belligerent” man, who was charged with obstruction and disorderly conduct, was wrangled to the ground. Freeman handcuffed him and handed him over to another officer. By then it was 4 a.m. There was still time left in Freeman’s security shift, one more hour to watch over the Waffle House and whatever downtown Macon might send its way.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Days before death, fallen Bibb deputy collared Waffle House troublemaker."