CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. – In the living room of the house at the end of Hood Avenue, Officer Josh Garrison found broken glass on the floor, a cracked mirror, specks of blood on the television and a father and son, separated in two rooms.
Garrison, of the Chickamauga Police Department, had been here before, responding to other domestic violence calls. This time, on Jan. 25, Pat Wooten said his son exploded into rage over something that seemed small. Patrick Lance Wooten, 30, believed his father tinkered with his truck.
Pat said he didn’t. Lance called him a liar.
Pat, 58, told the officer his son then threw an oxygen tank into an aquarium, punched a mirror on the wall, tore a computer monitor out of its station and smacked his fist into the television. Pat remained in his chair. Surgeons had just replaced both his hips, he explained.
He said his son, at 6 feet, 1 inches and 220 pounds, tried to punch him. But Pat shielded his face with his forearms. Lance clawed at them, he said, until Pat let his guard down for a second, long enough for his son to sweep a slap across his face. After Pat called 911, he said he heard Lance in the kitchen, breaking something.