An 18-year-old freshman at Lee University has been charged with slashing a Bradley County first responder in the neck early Thursday.
A police report said William Sharpe, of Albany, Ga., was charged with aggravated assault after EMS worker Barry Snyder was wounded.
William SharpeA news release from the Bradley County Mayor's Office initially said a vagrant was responsible for slashing the EMS worker's neck.
Jerome Hammond, vice president of university relations, said Friday that university officials are trying to figure out where that term came from, since it was Sharpe's dorm supervisor who called EMTs after finding Sharpe heavily intoxicated in his room.
Hammond said Sharpe is a freshman and a member of Lee's golf team. He said the team has suspended Sharpe and the campus disciplinary committee is meeting this afternoon to determine what happened and how to handle Sharpe's case.
The police report said campus security officers were restraining a screaming, cursing Sharpe outside the dorm when EMS arrived about 2 a.m.
Sharpe was trying to get in a car but the officer blocked the door. Then Snyder reached out and touched Sharpe, who turned around with keys in hand and punched Snyder in the neck. Snyder took Sharpe to the ground, where campus security detained him until police arrested him.
Snyder required 14 stitches but went back to work after receiving medical treatment, officials said.
Hammond said university officials are disappointed and upset at Sharpe's behavior, but also concerned for his future.
"This does not represent Lee University," Hammond said. "We're not only disappointed, we're sorry for him. He's a very young man ... [who made] a very bad decision, to say the least."