Colton English

Name:
English, Colton Lee

Date of Booking:
04/08/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
Aggravaged Assault on Law Enf while on duty

Aggravaged Assault on Law Enf while on duty

Aggravaged Assault on Law Enf while on duty

Aggravaged Assault on Law Enf while on duty

Aggravated Assault (FV)

Aggravated Assault (FV)

Terroristic Threats and Acts

Terroristic Threats and Acts

Terroristic Threats and Acts

Terroristic Threats and Acts

Terroristic Threats and Acts FV

Terroristic Threats and Acts FV

Possession of a Firearm or Knife During Commission or Attempt to Commit certain Felonies

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 3/25/2026 at approximately 2058, Officer Stephanie Ensley and I, Sgt. Jason Miller, were dispatched to [900 BLOCK] Old Dalton Ellijay Road in reference to Colton English, who was schizophrenic and off his medication, threatening to kill his parents and screaming.

The caller, [VICTIM #1], stated that Colton had threatened to stab him and cut “their” heads off. In the meaning of their, Colton was referring to the caller who was his stepfather, and Colton’s mother, [VICTIM #2]. [VICTIM #1] also advised that Colton had locked himself in the shed. [VICTIM #1] also told dispatch that Colton always kept a knife on his belt loop that had a four-to-six-inch blade.

While en route I did confirm that Colton was in the shed by himself to make sure that no one was currently in harm’s way. Dispatch confirmed that he was in the shed but also stated that Colton had a compound bow in the shed with him. At that point I requested that EMS stand by at the Pre-K in case we needed them.

Officer Ensley arrived on scene at approximately 2100, and I arrived approximately two minutes later. As she was arriving on scene, Ensley notified dispatch that Colton was going back into the shed.

When I arrived, I found Ensley standing in front of the residence at [900 BLOCK] Old Dalton Ellijay Road speaking with Colton’s parents. While speaking with them, the shed that Colton had gone into was approximately 30-40 yards from the front of the house at the end of the driveway. The only entrance to the shed was visible from where the three were talking to one another.

As I approached them, I heard the parents telling Ensley that Colton had threatened to stab [VICTIM #1] and to cut both of their heads off. While we were standing there talking, Colton would occasionally come out of the shed and onto the small front porch that was attached to it, grab a cell phone which his mother stated was hers, and then he would go back inside the shed.

The parents reiterated that Colton was schizophrenic and advised us that he had been off his medication for approximately four to six months. [VICTIM #2] told us that Colton had been under mental health treatment at Highland Rivers for a long time and was on an injection medication for his schizophrenia and it had been helping him. She said that Colton and his counselor had gotten into an argument at one point and was told that if he kept acting like he had been toward the counselor, that they were no longer going to be able to see him at Highland Rivers. [VICTIM #2] said Colton then decided not to go back and had not been on his medication since then.

Both [VICTIM #2] and [VICTIM #1] told us that they did not want Colton at the residence due to his behavior and the threats to kill them.

After hearing all of this, I called Advent Health Murray to speak with the ER doctor, Dr. [REDACTED], about getting a 1013 signed over the phone. Dr. [REDACTED] told me that he would sign a 1013 if we were to bring Colton into the ER, but he could not do so over the phone.

In the past when dealing with a mental health patient that was suicidal/homicidal, I had EMS call the ER doctor and that doctor obtained the patients information and signed a 1013 on the spot. Previous procedures had been that if a mental health patient had committed a penal violation (a violation of state law) that law enforcement could detain the subject and transport them to the nearest ER. At another time this had been changed as well, preventing law enforcement from being able to detain without a 1013 already in hand.

I then called Captain Kelly Parker to see if he knew what the current procedure was for dealing with this type of issue. Cpt. Parked stated that to the best of his knowledge, that we were still operating under the procedure of if the mental health patient had committed a penal offense, that we could detain him/her and take him/her to the hospital for an evaluation in lieu of arrest.

Colton had made terroristic threats to both of his parents, so this was the course of action that was decided on.

After finishing these phone calls, Ensley advised me that Colton had asked to speak with her. He was at that time standing on the front porch of the shed. As we began walking toward the shed to speak with him, he quickly went inside and shut and locked the door. There was a window to the left of the door that was partially open and Ensley was able to speak with Colton through the open window, but he refused to open the door.

Ensley attempted to find out what was going on with Colton, but he refused to really talk to her about anything. He got agitated and wanted her to listen to the 911 phone call and find out what his mom was saying to [VICTIM #1] in the background during the call. He repeatedly refused to speak with either of us unless we listened to the 911 recording.

In an attempt to appease him, I called 911 and spoke to the dispatcher who had taken the initial call. She repeated what had already been dispatched to us, telling me that [VICTIM #1] and [VICTIM #2] were both going back and forth during the call explaining everything that was going on with Colton.

While I was on the phone with the dispatcher, I also went back to speak with [VICTIM #2] and [VICTIM #1] about the door to the shed being locked. They advised that they did not have a key to unlock it. I explained that if Colton continued to refuse to open the door that I would eventually have to breach it, which was going to damage it. Both agreed that they were okay with that.

I then returned to the window and spoke with Colton. I explained to him in detail what had been said during the 911 call and he became very agitated. He started screaming that it was a lie and that I had not listened to the call because that was not what had been said. When I asked him to tell me what had been said, he refused to talk, just yelled that we were done.

By this point Officer Ensley and I were making plans on making entry into the shed by breaching the door. I had told Ensley to go with less-lethal force, utilizing her Taser, and that I would take lethal force if needed.

Ensley continued to attempt to talk Colton into opening the door, but he refused. During this, Officers Brackett and Jackson arrived on scene as well. When they approached, I gave them a quick briefing of what was going on. I explained that Ensley was going to use less-lethal force first if needed, but I wanted them to be ready to use lethal force.

I then returned to the open window again and I explained to Colton that I needed to speak with him, face-to-face. I explained that if he did not open the door for us, that I was eventually going to have to kick it in. This enraged Colton. He began telling me that he was not going anywhere and if I came in there that he was going to die. He repeated this again and then I asked if he had any weapons in the shed with him; he told me that he had a knife.

He then told me that he was aiming to kill me and if I came in there that he was going to die. He then told me that if I came in there that he would be defending himself. I then tried to explain that based on the statements made by his parents that I had probable cause to charge him with terroristic threats, but he started yelling at me before I could finish my sentence.

As I was having this dialog with Colton, Ensley turned toward me with a panicked look on her face and told me that he had just grabbed a knife. She then spread her hands apart to indicate or show reference as to how large the knife was. When she did this, her reference made the knife appear to be nearly a foot in length.

She asked me if I still wanted her to maintain less lethal force and I told her yes, that we needed someone to have a less lethal force option available. I then had her back off the porch to give a reactionary space, and I had Officers Brackett and Jackson back up as well. I then positioned them in specific places and told them that I was going to breach the door and told them exactly where I was going to run to, off the porch, after breaching in order to be clear from Colton coming out on me and allowing them room to use force if needed.

As I was putting them in position, Colton started messing with the door. Then suddenly the door came open, and Colton was standing in the doorway with a large knife in his right hand. By the time I had recognized the knife in his hand and drew my Taser, Officer Ensley who already had hers out, immediately discharged her Taser, striking Colton, and achieving Neuromuscular Incapacitation (NMI).

Colton obtained full lockup but stood frozen for what felt like several seconds before falling backwards onto the floor. Once on the floor we quickly made entry giving him commands to roll over on his stomach. I then had to grab his arm and rolled him over myself because he would not roll over. As soon as the cycle of the Taser ended, Colton did not resist or fight with us. I was able to get him into handcuffs without any resistance. As I was placing him in handcuffs, he made a statement, “okay, okay, that changed really quickly”.

Once he was secured, I assisted him to his feet and searched him for weapons. At this point I did not know where the knife was that he had in his hand when he opened the door, so other officers began looking for the knife. I then photographed the probe impact sites while the Taser probes were still in place. Officer Ensley then removed each probe, and I photographed the impact sites after removal.

Officer Brackett then located the knife lying on the floor next to the front door and in front of the dresser that was in the room. I then photographed the knife where it was before retrieving it for evidence.

I then walked Colton to my patrol car. While walking to my car he repeatedly told me that he wanted to die and was going to kill himself. I then transported him to Advent Health Murray without incident. Once at the hospital I briefed Dr. [REDACTED] and the nursing staff on the events that had taken place.

I then returned to the police department where Officer Ensley and I placed the knife and the discharged Taser cartridge into evidence. The Taser that was used was Officer Ensley’s Taser that was assigned to her at her full-time place of employment, Eton Police Department. The serial number on the Taser cartridge was C410DDH47 and the expiration date on the cartridge was 12/2027.

A “response to resistance” form was also completed. All photographs were downloaded to a thumb drive and placed into evidence as well.

On 3/27/2026 warrants were entered for Terroristic Threats and Acts, Obstruction of Law Enforcement (Felony), Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Felony.

[End of Narrative]