Austell Man Gets 30 Years in Police Officer Assault

An Austell man has been sentenced to 30 years for the aggravated assault on a police officer and other charges after an incident at Jonquil Park in Smyrna, according to Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds.

Kevin Shymel Gibbs, 24, was sentenced to 30 years with 20 years to serve.

On Nov. 22, a Cobb jury convicted Gibbs of five charges, including two counts of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and reckless driving.

According to a press release from the Cobb district attorney, evidence presented during the trial showed that Gibbs was sitting in the driver’s seat of the only car parked in Jonquil Park about on a wet, rainy Feb. 12, when Smyrna Police Officer Daniel Stuckey drove up to check things out.

After the officer got out of his vehicle, Gibbs began moving his car toward the officer, striking him in the legs. Officer Stuckey ordered Gibbs to stop, which did not happen. Instead, the vehicle accelerated a second time toward the officer, who then fired his service weapon through the driver’s window. 

The bullet struck Gibbs, who still did not put the car in park. He sped out of the park and into rush-hour traffic, weaving in and out of lanes. At the intersection of Spring Street and Glenroy Drive, the vehicle hit a Buick Enclave, shearing off a tire from the Buick. 

Gibbs continued driving and crashed into a median. Officer Stuckey then performed a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT), stopping the vehicle.