Christopher Ridings

Name:
Ridings, Christopher David

Date of Booking:
04/18/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
CRUELTY TO CHILDREN-ALLOW CHILD TO WITNESS FELONY/BATTERY/FAMILY VIOLENCE-3RD DEGREE

PUBLIC INDECENCY-1ST OR 2ND CONVICTION – MISDEMEANOR

CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO PROPERTY – 2ND DEGREE (Private)

TERRORISTIC THREATS AND ACTS

WILLFUL OBSTRUCTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS – MISDEMEANOR

Battery – Family Violence (1st Offense) (M)

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.]

[NARRATIVE #1 on April 18, 2026]

On the date and time above I (PFC Sontay) responded to a call at [10 BLOCK] Judson Dr. Complainant advised they woke up to people being loud and it was possibly coming from [10 BLOCK] Judson Dr.

I upon arrival I was in the area and drove slowly in my Floyd County marked patrol vehicle. I rolled down my windows to hear any loud noises and all I heard was a dog barking. I drove to the driveway and heard what sounded like people talking and possibly arguing and I saw the residence had an open door. I stepped out my patrol vehicle and saw the railing of the front stairs had been torn out and it had fallen on the front yard.

I walked up to the door and heard banging, I heard people yelling and due to the exigence circumstance of the situation and the address having history of people fighting I walked into the residence and announced myself. As I walked in with my gun drawn I saw a naked male banging his head on the wall in the hallway. I saw a female walk out of one side of the hallway and she was also naked and then I put my gun away.

I went toward the male and told him to put his hands behind his back and I handcuffed him to prevent him from injuring himself any further. The male was identified as Christopher David Ridings and the female was identified as [WITNESS #1]. As I handcuffed the male an older male came out of one of the rooms identified as [WITNESS #2] and he advised he didn’t know who the female was and wanted her arrested and that Christopher had mental issues.

I advised dispatch I had one detained and that I was looking for [WITNESS #1] because she had walked off while I was handcuffing Christopher. Dispatch advised they were having a hard time hearing my radio traffic due to the dog in the background along with other noises. I walked christopher into another room which had the lights off and told him to sit down while I asked where [WITNESS #1] was. I saw [WITNESS #1] was in the bed that was in the dark room. I asked her what was going on but it was hard to hear due to the dog barking.

I asked her what her name was and advised dispatch of her information. While I asked for [WITNESS #1]’s name, Christopher would yell and tell her not to say anything. Christopher got up and began banging his head against the wall after being told to sit down on the couch. I grabbed Christopher and sat him down and [WITNESS #2] then came and walked across the room and Christopher got up again yelling and I pushed him to the couch. [WITNESS #2] was able to turn on the light in the room.

Christopher kept getting up and yelled, as I tried to push Christopher back on the couch he began to push against me so I grabbed a hold of him pushed him to the couch and placed him on the ground to prevent him from getting up. Due to all the commotion I was not able to hear my radio very well but I attempted to give dispatch updates. I heard officers come through the back door and assisted me in getting Christopher up on his feet and they took him to my patrol car as I spoke with [WITNESS #2] over the situation.

[WITNESS #2] advised both [WITNESS #1] and Christopher had been drinking and [WITNESS #1] had been antagonizing Christopher. [WITNESS #2] advised he had two juveniles that he had custody over [VICTIM #1] (15 years old) and [VICTIM #2] (14 years old) and they both were deaf and one of them had autism and both spoke sign language and could not speak. [WITNESS #2] advised both of them were Christophers sons. [WITNESS #2] advised [VICTIM #1] told him he had been hit, I texted [VICTIM #1] to communicate with him asked him what happened and he advised Christopher and [WITNESS #1] had been drinking and Christopher came into the room and with a closed fist and punched him in the nose leaving his nose red in color but Christopher did not do anything to [VICTIM #2].

[VICTIM #1]. advised Christopher grabbed his phone and slammed it on the floor and showed a stomping motion. Christopher tried to explain more on what [VICTIM #1]. was trying to say and advised he did not see when [VICTIM #1]. was punched but showed me that [VICTIM #1]. was trying to keep Christopher out of the room by closing the door but Christopher forcibly pushed against the door and once he got into the room he began to fight with [VICTIM #1] which led to him to getting punched. [WITNESS #2] advised the phone that was damaged was an iphone 16 pro. [WITNESS #2] advised he initially brought both juveniles into the room to get them away from Christopher and [WITNESS #1].

[WITNESS #2] advised Christopher damaged the wall when he banged his head on the wall leaving a dent in the wall and I saw picture frames damaged. [WITNESS #2] advised the rail of the stairs was already falling apart but Christopher and [WITNESS #1] were outside being loud and knocked the rail down completely. [WITNESS #2] advised Christopher stayed at the residence off and on.

I spoke with [WITNESS #1] and asked her what happened and she advised she didn’t know Christopher and that she and christopher were drinking. I asked [WITNESS #1] if she lived at the residence and she said no. [WITNESS #2] advised she did not want [WITNESS #1] there so I advised her to get dressed, not drive and find a ride home.

Christopher was placed under arrest and in the backseat of my patrol vehicle and transported to the Floyd County Jail were he was released to the deputies at the jail. While enroute to the jail, Christopher continued to bang his head in my patrol vehicle. At the jail CPL George and CPL Sangphim assisted me in getting Christopher out my patrol vehicle. CPL George notified me that Christopher had made terroristic threats to CPL Sangphim telling him he would “eat his face”.

Handcuffs checked for fit and double locked.
Backseat cleared before and after arrest.

[End of Narrative]

[NARRATIVE #2 on April 18, 2026]

On 04/18/2026 I, Cpl. Sangphim, responded as back up to PFC. Sontay who was actively fighting with a suspect at [10 BLOCK] Judson Dr. I responded with other units emergency lights and siren to the scene.

Upon arrival we could hear raised voices around the back side of the house and PFC. Sontay was still actively fighting the suspect. SGT. Wade forced entry into the back door. I observed PFC. Sontay attempting to gain control of a male, later identified as Christopher Ridings. PFC. Sontay had already placed Ridings into handcuffs but he was actively fighting and resisting her.

I observed another older white male standing behind PFC. Sontay. I gave him multiple lawful commands to back up, but he did not. I did not know what his intent was and he was too close to Officers while they were attempting to get Ridings under control. I then physically pushed him back to give PFC. Sontay and other Officers room to deal with Ridings who was still actively resisting. The older man later identified as, [WITNESS #2], complied and backed off.

I then assisted Cpl. George and PFC. Bradley escort Riding to PFC. Sontay’s patrol car. He continued to actively resist. We eventually got him into the backseat. I attempted to advised Ridings of his miranda rights, but he repeatedly talked over me. I was eventually able to get him to calm down and successfully read him his miranda rights. He stated he understood and was willing to answer my questions. Ridings stated it was just a verbal argument. He then attempted to injure himself by banging his head on the cage of the patrol car.

Myself and Cpl. George then placed Ridings in his seatbelt to prevent him from doing this. Myself and Cpl. George then followed PFC. Sontay to the jail where we assisted her get Ridings into the jail. While assisting Jail Officers Ridings looked at me and told me he would “eat my face”. The Jail Nurse eventually cleared him and he was placed into a cell.

Miranda Read
Handcuffs checked for proper fit and double locked
Use of Force Report Completed

[End of Narrative]

[NARRATIVE #3 on April 18, 2026]

On the above date and time Pfc. Sontay responded to [10 BLOCK] Judson Dr in reference to a lot of commotion going on at the residence with people being loud and a history of domestics at the residence. I was familiar with the address due to previous calls and dealing with Christopher Ridings at this residence who is a member of the Ghost Face Gang who have violent tendencies toward law enforcement.

Pfc. Sontay after arriving advised she had an open door and when E911 checked on her was not answering her radio. Due to the dispatched info along with Pfc. Sontay not answering her radio I along with other officers began responding emergency with lights and sirens. Moments later Pfc. Sontay keyed up her radio and all you could hear was a dog barking and unable to understand Pfc. Sontay’s radio traffic which led me to believe that Pfc. Sontay was actively fighting with someone, Pfc. Sontay keyed up her radio multiple times again with radio traffic that you could not understand. Due to Pfc. Sontay’s radio traffic not being able to interpreted I along with other officers continued responding emergency.

Upon arriving I was familiar with the residence and that Christopher usually is located around the back of the residence or the basement. While trying to locate Pfc. Sontay I went to the back of the residence and upon looking through the glass panels in the backdoor I could see Pfc. Sontay bent over with Christopher Ridings lying on the ground which led me to believe that Pfc. Sontay was actively fighting with Christopher Ridings.

I tried to open the back door, the door knob was unlocked but the door had a security chain on the inside of the door not allowing it to fully swing open allowing me to enter and assist Pfc. Sontay. Due to the door not opening and believing that Pfc. Sontay was actively fighting with Christopher Ridings I kicked in the back door and entered the residence.

Once entering the residence I began assisting Pfc. Sontay which is when I realized that Pfc. Sontay had already placed Christopher in handcuffs. Christopher was still lying in the floor with multiple people in living room at which time I began dragging Christopher away from people to better gain control of his movements and stand him up to escort him out of the residence. Christopher was escorted out of the residence and placed in the backseat of Pfc. Sontay’s patrol vehicle and Cpl. Sangphim stood by with him and monitored him.

I stood by with Pfc. Sontay while she gathered information for the report and arrest. Pictures were taken of the damage to the door that I caused by kicking it in along with damage to the residence that Christopher caused during the domestic altercation.

After the situation was under control is when I realized that my body camera did not activate when I activated my lights and sirens as it is programmed to do and had malfunctioned

[End of Narrative]