Man charged with assaulting wife, police officers
Published 6:00 pm Friday, December 22, 2017
A 26-year-old man faces charges after police say he assaulted his wife in the parking lot of a local hospital as well as officers who responded to the call.
Officers of the Elizabethton Police Department arrested Corey Culler, 26, no address available, on Thursday morning and charged him with domestic assault, two counts of simple assault on officers, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
According to police reports, officers responded to Sycamore Shoals Hospital shortly before 11 a.m. on Thursday after a 911 caller reported they saw a man assaulting a woman inside a car in the parking lot of the hospital. The caller was able to provide dispatchers with a description of the vehicle along with its license plate number.
When officers arrived at the hospital’s parking lot, they located the vehicle and identified the man as Culler.
“While officers were trying to detain Mr. Culler to investigate a domestic assault, he became very disorderly and stated ‘I’m not going to jail,’” EPD Officer Jason Mosier said. “Mr. Culler then failed to comply with orders given by officers. After a brief struggle, Mr. Culler was placed into handcuffs.”
Mosier said Culler continued to resist as officers tried to place him into the back seat of a police vehicle. According to Mosier, after Culler was secured in the police car he began kicking the doors and windows of the vehicle. EPD Sgt. Lincoln Orellana opened the door, and Culler kicked the officer and attempted to headbutt him, Mosier said. During the struggle with officers, Mosier said Culler also kicked EPD Capt. Patrick White.
Officers then used pepper spray to subdue Culler and once again secure him in the vehicle.
Mosier said he spoke with Culler’s wife, who stated she and Culler had been arguing when he began to assault her. Officers also spoke with several individuals at the scene who said they witnessed Culler assaulting the woman.
According to Mosier, officers asked Culler if he would like to be checked for any injuries and he refused medical treatment. At that time, White transported Culler to the Carter County Detention Center to be booked in on the charges against him.
“Captain White advised that Mr. Culler stated that he only ‘bounced her head off the window,’ during the transport to the Carter County Detention Center,” Mosier said.