Family gets probation after armed standoff

Family gets probation after armed standoff

Franklin, Spring Hill officers tried to serve warrant

SPRING HILL — A father, mother and son who threatened the lives of police officers won't serve time in jail.

James and Cathey Kimbro, and their son, Jeff, were accused of resisting arrest and fighting with officers who came to their Spring Hill home on Jan. 17, 2007. The officers were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on James Kimbro, 56, who had been charged with harassing a local divorce attorney.

According to police reports, Cathey Kimbro, 56, tried to close the door on the officers and told them the warrant they'd brought was no good. James Kimbro told the officers to leave and got into a fight with a Spring Hill officer, who was able to cuff him after using pepper spray. The encounter ended after Jeff Kimbro, 27, pointed an assault rifle at the officers while his father yelled "shoot them."

The officers pulled their guns and ordered Jeff Kimbro to drop his. The standoff lasted nearly two minutes, according to written report from Franklin officer Alley Evola.

"I think the Kimbros certainly are fortunate that the police did not fire upon them," Deputy District Attorney Derek Smith said. "It was a tense situation."

All three family members pleaded guilty to charges on Monday and were sentenced to terms of probation. Cathey Kimbro was convicted of resisting arrest and sentenced to six months of probation. James Kimbro was convicted of resisting arrest and five counts of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to three years of probation. Jeff Kimbro pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and five counts of aggravated assault and was sentenced to 10 years of probation.

The Kimbros agreed to forfeit the 38 guns police seized from their home. Jeff Kimbro will not be allowed to own or possess another firearm. He'll serve a year of intensive probation and must attend anger-management counseling.

Police Are Satisfied

Smith said all of the officers involved in the standoff were in agreement with the sentence.

"Some people may view probation as a lesser sentence, but it's a tool used by the court when sentencing defendants that don't have a prior criminal record," said Franklin Police spokesman Charles Warner. "It's a pretty significant period of probation, and if they are not successful, they could face time in jail."

James Kimbro was initially accused of sending more than 300 faxes and
e-mails to a local attorney and threatening bodily harm on the phone.


Police reports state that four officers went to the Kimbros' home on New Port Royal Road about 10:15 p.m. to serve an arrest warrant. Cathey Kimbro answered the door and told the officers her husband was in bed. Jeff came to the door and displayed a handgun, according to police. Cathey told the officers that they were not coming inside and tried to close the door. She got into a scuffle with a Spring Hill officer, who told her she was under arrest and tried to place her in handcuffs.

James Kimbro then came to the door and told the officers to leave. Spring Hill Officer Eric Toms grabbed James, who fought back. While wrestling with the officer on the floor, James yelled, "Jeff, shoot them. Shoot them," according to Toms. That's when Jeff Kimbro came into the living room with an assault rifle in his arms and a pistol in his pants. The officers drew their guns.

Spring Hill Officer John Smith Jr. reported that Cathey Kimbro came between him and her son.

"I shoved her onto the couch in the living room area because of the threat of gunfire and her being caught in the middle."

Jeff Kimbro eventually put down the gun and was placed in handcuffs.

"The outcome was certainly the best possible," Warner said. "No one was hurt and that's what matters at the end of the day."

Family gets probation after armed standoff | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

I'm glad that (self loading) rifle didn't assault anyone, but that's a completely different topic.
My hat is off to those officers for having the self-control not to open fire on the son. Already wrestling with the parents, the kid shows up brandishing 2 weapons and none of the officers opened fire is amazing. Not only keeping calm, but also pushing the mother out of the line of fire...
Kudos to the training division in FPD and SHPD.

James Kimbro then came to the door and told the officers to leave. Spring Hill Officer Eric Toms grabbed James, who fought back. While wrestling with the officer on the floor, James yelled, "Jeff, shoot them. Shoot them," according to Toms. That's when Jeff Kimbro came into the living room with an assault rifle in his arms and a pistol in his pants. The officers drew their guns.

I would think this would be attempted murder.

"I think the Kimbros certainly are fortunate that the police did not fire upon them," Deputy District Attorney Derek Smith said. "It was a tense situation."

Or the other way around.

I have a question for the police officers on here...Do you think it was correct for the officers to not open fire? How do you not shoot someone who is pointing a rifle at you with a family member telling him to shoot you?

It seems these officers were well within their right to shoot him. I am just wondering why they didn't.

Originally Posted by KahrMan

I have a question for the police officers on here...Do you think it was correct for the officers to not open fire? How do you not shoot someone who is pointing a rifle at you with a family member telling him to shoot you?

It seems these officers were well within their right to shoot him. I am just wondering why they didn't.

+1 here. I dont see how they did not shoot.

Originally Posted by Farman

I'm glad that (self loading) rifle didn't assault anyone, but that's a completely different topic.
My hat is off to those officers for having the self-control not to open fire on the son. Already wrestling with the parents, the kid shows up brandishing 2 weapons and none of the officers opened fire is amazing. Not only keeping calm, but also pushing the mother out of the line of fire...
Kudos to the training division in FPD and SHPD.

Bull****.

I would have dropped the turd in a heartbeat pointing a weapon at me when I was serving a legal arrest warrant.

On the other hand, why serve a warrant at 10:15 at night?

We never served them after 10 pm unless it was for a felony or couldn't find any other way to catch the perp.

It sure seems like the best course of action would have been to call and ask the guy to come down to the station to answer some questions...

It doesn't sound like there was such an immediate threat to require invading the guys house so late at night.

Everybody is lucky that the situation didn't escalate to live fire...

Originally Posted by m&pc9

I would think this would be attempted murder.

It probably started out that way but was reduced in the deal to plead guilty.

The article did not say that the son pointed the gun at anyone. It said he appeared in the room with a rifle in his arms and a handgun in his pants. Therefore the police were correct in not shooting the son.