Newton Citizen

COVINGTON -- A former Indian Creek Middle School teacher was arrested last week by Athens-Clarke County Police after he allegedly held a Taser in front of him and pretended it was his penis.

Meredith Grayson Watson, 44, of Hiawassee Avenue in Athens faces charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct following the incident that occurred at 2:30 in the afternoon on Monday, Nov. 19, at the Roadhouse, an Athens bar on North Lumpkin Street. Newton County School System employees were on Thanksgiving break last week.

According to the police incident report, police were called to the bar by the bartender who reported that Watson was setting the Taser off in the bar. When police arrived, they attempted to talk to Watson, but reported, "He cooperated but his actions were very slow and he was unsteady on his feet. His breath smelled of an alcoholic beverage and his speech was slurred. He appeared to be very intoxicated and possible (sic) under the influence of drugs ... I tried to question him about the Taser he had. He denied having a Taser. Another patron of the bar had taken the Taser from him and gave it to officers. Most of the questions I asked, he couldn't give me much of a coherent answer."

The bartender told police the wife was a "good customer" at the Roadhouse, but she had never seen Watson before. She stated the couple was arguing about Watson's level of intoxication and about him being "high and that he was going to end up in jail. She (the wife) then left the bar. He went after her but quickly returned and continued to drink," the report states.

When Watson re-entered the bar, he began discharging the Taser and "then went outside and put the Taser down to his pants and was acting like it was his penis," the report states. "When people would walk by he would shock it at them and would come as close as arm's reach from them and set the Taser off. He scared a few girls so much they crossed the street to get away."

Police made no mention that anyone was actually shocked by the Taser during the incident.

When police placed him under arrest, Watson denied having the Taser and refused to take it as his property.

According to Newton County School System's director of Public Relations, Sherri Davis-Viniard, the school system is in receipt of Watson's resignation, which will come before the Newton County Board of Education at tonight's meeting. He was a technology teacher at Indian Creek.