BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Police say a disgruntled, armed Brunswick Police Department officer who held three people hostage Wednesday afternoon is now in custody.
Several agencies dispatched officers to the Norwich Street Commons apartment complex around 2:45 p.m.
The standoff ended a short time later. Officers said two shots were fired by Officer Darry Williams, 43, who police say was having personnel issues at work. He was not on duty at the time of the incident.
"Before this week no problems at all, no disciplinary problems, totally out of character," said BPD Capt. Kevin Jones.
Earlier in the day Williams went to City Hall to discuss the work issues. Jones said that’s when Williams was overheard making a startling statement.
“That he had a weapon and that you have 10 minutes to call SWAT,” Jones said.
That forced a lockdown at City Hall. Police caught up with Williams at the residential complex, where he was holding two women and one man hostage in a vacant office.
Investigators said two shots were fired, but no one was hurt. They said eventually police were able to talk Williams down.
Jones said Williams let the hostages go, sent the gun outside with the man and then surrendered.
"The person, the suspect as you might say, or the person that initiated is not injured. But more so, neither is either hostage that was taken. Everybody is safe. It was a quick response by the team," said Jimmy C. Carter, interim chief of the BPD.
"As far as we know, he did not know the hostages. They were just residents that happened to be there when he pulled up," Jones said.
Williams, a community services officer, has been with BPD for about 16 years, though he took a break for six to seven years and returned last year. He is charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, and aggravated assault and could face more charges.
In 2000, during a melee in Brunswick, Jones said Williams "acted appropriately at that time," when he fired a single shot at suspect Cedric Thompson, who pointed a handgun at Williams after a chase.
WJAX
