William Norman

Name:
Norman, William Carnell

Date of Booking:
08/21/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
Terroristic Threats and Acts (Misd)

Terroristic Threats and Acts (Misd)

Willful Obstruction of Law Enforcement Officers-Misdemeanor

Willful Obstruction of Law Enforcement Officers-Misdemeanor

Willful Obstruction of Law Enforcement Officers-Misdemeanor

Disorderly Conduct

Public Drunk

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On Friday, August 21st, 2026, at approximately 2109 hours, I responded to McDonald’s, located at 1370 Joe Frank Harris Parkway, Cartersville, Bartow County, Georgia, in reference to a text to 911 reporting an intoxicated subject causing a disturbance inside the business and taking his clothes off.

Prior to my arrival, the reporting party, later identified as [WITNESS #1], reported that the subject had left the business. As I was pulling into the parking lot, I observed [WITNESS #1] waving me down and pointing toward a male subject walking in the direction of Storage Key, located at 410 Grassdale Road, Cartersville, Bartow County, Georgia.

I activated the blue lighting equipment on my county issued marked patrol vehicle in an attempt to speak with the subject. Initially, the subject continued walking after seeing the blue lights. The subject eventually stopped, allowing me to exit my patrol vehicle and make contact with him. I recognized the male as someone law enforcement had recently been in contact with and knew him to have a history of violent behavior, including a prior charge of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer.

The male was identified as William Norman. Upon contact, William immediately asked if he was in trouble. I advised William that law enforcement had received a call from McDonald’s regarding him. William stated he had just been at McDonald’s. I advised William that the call was in reference to him possibly taking his clothes off. William asked how he could have been taking his clothes off if he was wearing his clothes. I advised him that I did not know the circumstances at that time because I had just made contact with him.

During the encounter, William repeatedly stated that he was currently suing the Bartow County Sheriffs Office for one million dollars and made statements to the effect of, “What the fu*k are you doing here?”

William stated that his “baby mama” was on the way to pick him up and was checking his location. William also stated that he was a Freemason and made a statement to the effect of, “Don’t fu*k with me.” In an attempt to calm William, I advised him that I was also a Freemason. William responded that he was older than me and had been a Freemason before I was born, and told me to stop playing with him.

William again asked why I was there. As I began explaining that I had received a call from McDonald’s, William began yelling and interrupting me. William stated that he had just walked out of McDonald’s and that his cup was full of ice. William then began pouring the ice completely out of the cup. William again asked why I was there. During this conversation, I was waiting for backup deputies to arrive so I could speak with the reporting party and McDonald’s employees.

William then asked who had called law enforcement. I advised him that the store had called. William stated that he had just left approximately five seconds earlier and said he left because, to the effect of, “They were scared of me.” I advised William that this was why I was speaking with him.

William then stated, to the effect of, “My baby mama is next to the Dollar General and on the way to get me now, so what the fu*k do you have to do with that if I am suing y’all for a million dollars?” I asked William what he had been doing inside McDonald’s that caused employees to contact law enforcement. William yelled that he had only been getting a cup of ice.

William removed his bag and emptied the contents of his pockets. William stated that he had a cup of ice with his beer and that was all he needed the ice for. William then stated that if he called his Freemasons, it would not make sense.

William then began attempting to reach inside his bag. I ordered William not to reach into his bag. I instructed William to come stand in front of my patrol vehicle. William immediately asked if he was in trouble. I advised William that he was being detained at that time.

William asked if he could smoke a cigarette. I advised him that he could smoke a cigarette if he remained standing in front of my patrol vehicle. William again asked if he had done something that would cause him to go to jail. I advised him that I was investigating a situation involving him.

William stated that he had just come from Marietta that day. I again instructed William to stand in front of my patrol vehicle and advised him that I would get his cigarettes for him. William stated that he was out on bond and walked toward me before suddenly jumping backward.

I again instructed William to stand in front of my patrol vehicle and advised him that I would get his cigarettes for him. William then began walking backward away from me and my patrol vehicle toward the front corner of the parking lot. I repeatedly instructed William to stand in front of my vehicle, but he refused to comply.

William then removed his shirt and stated, to the effect of, “Don’t let me have to wear a turtle suit again.” William again yelled that he was a Freemason and that I was not listening to him. William also pulled out a red bandana from his crotch under his pants stating that he was a Blood gang member.

After repeatedly ordering William to stand in front of my patrol vehicle, William eventually complied and walked toward my vehicle. After raising my voice and again ordering William to stand in front of my patrol vehicle, I applied my department issued handcuffs to William’s hands behind his back. I checked the handcuffs for proper fit and double locked them. This was completed without incident.

William then advised me that he had a knife in his backpack. William stated that he knew he could not have a blade longer than six inches because he was a convicted felon, so he did not have one that large.

While William was in handcuffs, he repeatedly attempted to lay down on his back and then on his stomach. William was restless and did not remain still during the encounter.

Deputies Jeffrey Stevens and Kenneth Langford subsequently arrived on scene. I made contact with the reporting party, [WITNESS #1]. [WITNESS #1] stated he was inside McDonald’s eating dinner when he observed William taking off his shirt, getting in an employee’s face, harassing employees, and appearing intoxicated. [WITNESS #1] stated he had been hired that day to work at the McDonald’s located on Highway 20 but did not work at this particular location. It was determined that [WITNESS #1] was a customer at the McDonald’s on Joe Frank Harris Parkway at the time of the incident.

I then entered the business and spoke with McDonald’s employees. Employees recalled William causing issues with an employee; however, that employee had already left for the day. The manager, [REDACTED], requested that a Criminal Trespass Warning be issued to William prohibiting him from returning to the location.

I returned outside and met with Deputies Stevens and Langford. I was advised that they had to force William into a patrol vehicle because he was actively resisting them. Deputy Stevens advised that, while being placed into the patrol vehicle, William made a terroristic threat toward law enforcement to the effect of, “touch me and I’ll beat your a*s.” at approximately 2131 hours; captured on Deputy Steven’s Bodyworn Camera.

I advised William that he was under arrest. William requested that all of his belongings be turned over to his girlfriend, who had arrived on scene. Throughout my interaction with William, law enforcement personnel noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person and breath.

Due to the risk involved with attempting to remove William from the other patrol vehicle and place him into my patrol vehicle, William was transported to the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center by Deputy Stevens.

I met Deputy Stevens at the detention center, where he advised me that William had made another threat while being transported. This threat is a sentence to the effect of “When we get to Bartow I’m beating your a*s.” This was captured on Deputy Steven’s in car camera and Bodyworn Camera at approximately 2140 hours. William was turned over to detention center staff, and staff were advised of William’s behavior during the incident and his prior charge of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer for their safety.

State warrants were taken out and signed for Public Drunk, Disorderly Conduct, Obstruction of Law Enforcement Officers (M) x3, and Terroristic Threats and Acts (M) x2.

A Criminal Trespass Warning was completed for McDonald’s.

[End of Narrative]