‘Strongest man in world’ battles Bibb lawmen

Nothing seemed to faze the guy. Pain? Ha. He claimed to welcome it. In a confrontation with Bibb County sheriff’s deputies the morning of May 21, the 51-year-old took almost all the officers could dish out as they tried to restrain him outside a west Macon strip mall. It wasn’t clear why he was there or why he was being “combative,” as an incident report of the 7:30 a.m. clash put it. The fight happened near Lucky China Restaurant and a laundry place just east of Log Cabin Drive in the 4200 block of Mercer University Drive. The man, a 5-foot-8, 160-pounder, withstood repeated Taser jolts and refused to be handcuffed. An onlooker, a 66-year-old man, joined in to try and help the officers as they tangled with the troublemaker. One of the deputies later noted in his write-up that “I then stepped back while giving loud verbal commands and deployed my Taser cartridge, striking the subject in the abdomen. There was still no effect, and he continued to fight and yell, ‘I love pain! I will kill you (expletives)!” One of the deputies was hurt in the struggle, and the bystander who’d jumped in to help let go of the angry man to tend to the injured officer. Other deputies rushed in to help and the wild man was subdued. As he sat there handcuffed and defeated, the guy kept boasting: “I’m the strongest man in the world!” He was charged with numerous crimes, including battery, obstruction and hindering an officer.

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "‘Strongest man in world’ battles Bibb lawmen."