According to a Floyd County Police Department incident report, On April 5th, 2023, at 10:01 PM, Officer Wright was conducting stationary patrol at Lombardy Way and Flannery St when he observed a vehicle fail to stop at the stop sign. Officer Wright reported, “[I] activated my blue lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop. [I] approached the driver’s side of the vehicle to speak to the driver (Tahiri Durand Tolbert, 20, of Rome). [I] ask Tahiri if he knew why [I] was stopping him. Tahiri stated that he did not stop at the stop sign. [I] asked Tahiri for his license, but Tahiri advised me he did not have it with him. [I] ask for his name and date of birth. While I was speaking to Tahiri [I] noticed an odor of marijuana. [I] returned to my patrol vehicle and asked for another officer.” Officer Dollar and Officer Roberts arrived and were advised of the situation. When Tahiri was asked to exit the vehicle, he placed the vehicle into drive and sped away from officers. Officers pursued the vehicle, which reached speeds of 45 to 50 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone that had heavy foot and vehicle traffic. Officer Dollar reported, “The suspect vehicle turned right onto Maple Rd from Lombardy Way. Shortly after traveling North on Maple Rd., the suspect vehicle turned right onto E 20th St traveling East. The pursuit then turned left on Flannery St., traveling North again at speeds around approximately 50 MPH. The suspect vehicle then turned left onto E 14th St., traveling West. The pursuit then began traveling South back on Maple St. The suspect vehicle turned right onto E 16th St. traveling West. The vehicle then turned right onto Crane St., traveling North. The suspect vehicle then turned right onto E 15th St. traveling East. The suspect vehicle came to a stop around 112 E 15th St. where [I] then observed black male occupants running on foot away from the vehicle.” Floyd County Sheriff’s Office Deputies were able to locate Tahiri a short time later. Officers also located a mason jar full of marijuana on the ground at the rear driver-side tire. Officers searched Tahiri and found marijuana. Tahiri then asked for EMS because he was having back pains. Tahiri was later transported to the Floyd County Jail and charged with felony fleeing, reckless driving, failure to maintain a lane, running a stop sign, and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
Rome man found with marijuana after leading Floyd County police on pursuit
