Marquise Hardnett

Name:
Hardnett, Marquise Deshawn

Date of Booking:
04/12/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
WILLFUL OBSTRUCTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

OPEN CONTAINER IN PASSENGER AREA OF VEHICLE IN OPERATION

OPEN CONTAINER IN PASSENGER AREA OF VEHICLE IN OPERATION

OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORIZED PERSON DIRECTING TRAFFIC

HIT AND RUN; DUTY OF DRIVER TO STOP AT OR RETURN TO SCENE OT

FLEEING/ATTEMPTING TO ELUDE POLICE OFFICER

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 April 12, 2026, I was assisting H.E.A.T. on a road check. I was assisting D/S McCusker on a vehicle search when I heard D/S Wallis yell “He is taking off”. When I looked back I saw D/S Wallis standing in the roadway and a Red Hyundai Accent, GA tag [REDACTED], sedan accelerating away northbound on Highway 29 (Greenville St). I ran to my vehicle and activated my blue lights and sirens.

As I was catching up to the vehicle there was a bridge where I briefly lost sight of the vehicle. As I came over the bridge I observed the vehicle have enough distance on me that was consistent with a vehicle rapidly accelerating at a high rate of speed and fleeing from law enforcement. The vehicle attempted to make a left onto Corinth Rd but was traveling too fast to safely make the left turn. The vehicle locked his brakes, lost control of the vehicle, and crashed in a ditch and into a fence.

As soon as the vehicle came to a rest and I was coming to a stop, a male, later Identified as Marquis Hardnett, was climbing out of the driver side window and began running away from the accident scene. I exited my vehicle and began to give chase to the male. I activated my taser and deployed it twice and striking the male. The male tripped and got back up and continued running for the treeline. I lunged toward the male and tackled him to the ground.

As we were going to the ground I felt an immediate pain on the left side of my head and a sharp pain on my lip. When we landed on the ground I used my left arm and grabbed his left arm and he rolled to his side to try to get back up. With not knowing what hit me I delivered two strikes with my right hand (due to my left hand being used to prevent him from running away) to the left side of his face. I was also holding my taser in my right hand which was struck the side of his face. After the strike to the face he rolled over onto his stomach.

Sgt. Thompson arrived at this time and I threw my taser off to the side due to not being able to holster it while fighting with Marquis. Sgt. Thompson grabbed Marquis’s left arm and as I grabbed his right arm I noticed he was laying on it and his hand was in his waistband. I attempted to pull his arm out from underneath him due to not knowing what he was reaching for as this is a common area to carry firearms. I attempted to pull his arm out but Marquis continued to not allow me to pull his arm out. We gave multiple verbal commands to pull his arm out and eventually we were able to pull his arm out from underneath him and safely take him into custody.

I search of the vehicle was conducted and an open can of Michelob ultra beer was located in the driver door, a thermos which was mostly empty but contained a small amount of Tequila, and two cold unopened containers of an alcoholic beverage was in the front passenger seat. While taking Marquis into custody a strong odor of alcoholic beverage was coming from his breath.

D/S Wallis advised me that when he made contact with Marquis he smelled an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath and when he directed Marquis to pull over to the secondary stop location is when Marquis accelerated away and began to flee law enforcement.

Marquise was charged with Felony Fleeing, Hit and Run, Open Container x2, Obediance to Obey Authorized Person Directing Traffic, and Obstruction.

GSP responded and worked the accident. Marquise was transported to the hospital for medical clearance and then to Coweta County Jail where he was turned over to jail staff. Marquise had minor scratches on his fist and elbow. Pictures were taken by Sgt. Gorringe. I received a bloody lip, scratched left chin, and a headache. Pictures were also taken of my injuries. GSP responded and worked the accident, case #C001060574.

[End of Narrative]