Reaction & Commentary
Gun point to the ground but keep your hands to mat Solem the guy with his hands on the trunk is the one who called police to the bar parking lot it’s about 2:00 in the morning and I’m with my girlfriend and a couple of friends and we’re leaving we’re all sitting by my
Car about to say goodbye he just comes up to us and he asked for a cigarette and why we don’t smoke we don’t have a cigarette I’m sorry turns around and then pulls out a gun and his girlfriend’s freaking out like feeling no no no what are you doing I knew I had
To do something you could have been shot right your friends could have been shot Solan served in Afghanistan one of his army buddies faced the gunman with him that night Michael Loudermilk son of Georgia congressman Barry Loudermilk the two military veterans and their dates told Kennesaw Police they were
Confronted by a drunk man waving a gun and I see him point the gun at us so immediately muscle-memory I go and I hit him in the face I’ll belong take the gun away and then just beat him over the head with it till he was down when I hit
Him over the head the clip fell out so I went and walked over grabbed the clip unloaded the weapon and it was loaded fully with hollow points you essentially saved the congressman’s son’s life yeah everybody who was who was with me he just went after him and got the gun
Kennesaw officers quickly locate this surveillance video of the bar parking lot which appears to show the accused gunman Dwight Cooper and his girlfriend stumbling over to the two couples what are we seeing in this blurry video he comes up as his first cigarette gets mad blocka back and that’s when his
Girlfriend’s flailing and then he lifts up his shirt pulls out a Glock points it out as and his girlfriend still freaking out so that’s run up out of this our Mon hit him over the head with his gun walk away and pick up the clip so then why was Matt Solan
The only one who ended up in handcuffs that night I don’t know who you are I don’t know who you are okay do you think people ever lie to the police yep me too that’s my job Diane cigarette we tell him he doesn’t have a sticker he’s drunk
Can he pull a gun out and I thought disarmed him did he get shot don’t you just throw it on the ground don’t be stupid I understand completely you’re not exactly being [ __ ] I’m putting him in my car Matt Solan the man who disarmed the accused gunman is the only one
Handcuffed to produce alpha being the king I don’t know what’s wrong we’re trying to detain you to figure out what’s going on does that make sense officers spend much of the next hour trying to figure out what happened with the accused gunman bleeding on the ground he supposedly took a gun out and
Hit him in the head no it was right he took the gun off he says he took the gun off him hit him in the radio told us that the guy that got kicked was one who had the gun pulled it got kicked the guy took the gun and left while the combat
Veteran who saved lives sits in the back of a patrol car just a minute we’ll get your story a minute okay okay I was a strong investor you guys wouldn’t even be out here if I don’t call you look at it this way man I’m done talking anytime we show up I’ll
Call we have to do it we can for safety reasons until we can safely ask everybody questions we got one guy with a gun one guy bleeding so we detain and we wait till everything calms down then we start ask questions kind of figure out what happens to stare just so you
Know why you’re sitting back here no I’ve no idea I’m sitting Becca doesn’t explain anything good luck guys I say their last I don’t know why back here y’all aren’t doing your damn job and all I know it seems the last one to touch the gun you had one under control
The whole situation saw the Indians I had it disarmed all I’m told is that you’re the last one to have the gun you started touching your pockets everything I asked you not to and you’re like hey I’m the hero or whatever you were saying like just charge for a felony of
Possession of a firearm during commission of crime for his gun and then wait wait wait you were charged with a crime of possessing the gunman’s gun the one you took away from second it’s an $8,000 bomb is there an irony that the only one to call the police is the only
One who went to jail that night there is an irony and I appreciate him for what he did that night and I appreciate him for calling us but it doesn’t take away from that part two of the incident and that’s where he was charged we showed kennesaw police chief the surveillance
Video Matt Solan gave us and then it stops there that’s not the whole video No hello Matt yeah I just was wondering why you only gave us part of the video Beautiful gun pulled on me to save three people’s lives disarm the guy keep them there they wanted to run Matt Solan got arrested after disarming an accused gunman in a bar parking lot he was the one who called 911 and told dispatchers exactly what happened cigarette he told
Me done never sicker he’s drunk can he pull a gun out on us i disarmed them but responding officers thought it was a fight involving a gun we have a subject that’s armed and active 29 police end up arresting the hero and sending the accused gunman to the hospital did they
Ever handcuff the gunman no if the other subject in this case would have not needed medical treatment he would have gone to jail that night – in your view is Matt Solan a hero during his initial response that yes I agree with that comment I think when the second act was
Taken that’s where the lines crossed what second act the blurry surveillance video we were given appears to show Matt Solan charging at the accused gunman hitting him to keep him down and then unloading the gun and then it stops there that’s not the whole video no I
Just was wondering why you only gave us part of the video after this call Matt Solan gave us the entire video there’s the initial incident and then 29 seconds later this additional contact between Solan and the accused gunman there was an instant where he protected himself
And the people he was with and I commend him for that then part two is where he took action beyond that and that’s where he did cross the line did that appear to be punitive rather than defensive yes that’s that’s what I saw and then after
I pick up the clip I see Cooper’s girlfriend trying to pull him out so I reach over there for my photo I guess whenever the police looked over the video they thought me putting the foot on him was me hitting him again and him being restrained
I can’t really talk about the case but I asked over and over ever again what am I being arrested for and officer O’Brien said he has rights too the gunman has rameneh’s rights to he was restrained and you hit him while he was restrained and that’s why you’re
Going to jail and I was like he’s never been restrained he’s he’s not restrained it’s the stuff that you got to talk about with your lawyer I can’t no I stopped it we would have all been shot the Cobb County District Attorney refused to prosecute Solon dismissing the charges because the combat veteran
Quote acted in self-defense and in the defense of others how long were you in jail about 35 hours the guy who pulls the gun isn’t the one who goes to jail that night do you go to jail exactly he isn’t arrested til the next mono and he’s given his gun Dwight Cooper was
Drunk and disoriented when he woke up to find Cobb County police searching his car the police report says officers found him passed out with his foot on the brake and a car and drive an open bottle of vodka digital scales and enough marijuana to charge him with felony possession with intent to
Distribute police also found a 9-millimeter handgun his bond conditions included not drinking alcohol but the box that would have prevented Cooper from legally possessing a firearm was left unchecked two months later he would show up in a bar parking lot according to police with a loaded 40 caliber Glock
While out on bail for felony gun and drug charges he was in this weird netherworld between having been arrested and not having yet been indicted in a sense Cobb County put this guy back on the street with a gun to then face you and your friends in the
Parking lot he should never have been there no Matt Solon says he disarmed Cooper beat him down and called 9-1-1 can he pull a gun out on us i disarmed him did he get shot no I didn’t get shot I hit kicked in the face Solon was arrested for what police
Call a punitive strike after the threat had passed and for possessing the gun he had taken away those charges against the hero were dismissed when the DA determined he had saved Lots but the accused gunman is still awaiting trial then why did police turn over the key
Piece of evidence the gun to the defendants attorney remember that first arrest Cooper ended up pleading guilty to the drug charge and convicted felons can’t own guns so Cooper sold his guns to his own lawyer for $1 a judge signed an or turning Cooper’s pistols over to his defense attorney including the Glock
From the open criminal case don’t you Brian okay and when they pull oh my god but now it’s the vindicated hero who has to worry every time he sees an officer they’re gonna see this when they run my plate that I’ve been arrested before for gun related charge
Right and they’re gonna think in their head all this guy just had a good lawyer he got off it
