Man arrested for blocking school bus from continuing route

RINGGOLD, Ga. (WDEF) — Catoosa County police arrested a man for illegally stopping a school bus on Monday.

Officials charged Roger O’Neal Barrett with disruption or interference with operation of public schools.

The sheriff’s office said that Barrett originally called them around 4:30 p.m., as he was asking for assistance with traffic. According to officers, Barrett was in the area of Stewart Road at Smith Chapel Road, while trying to transfer his cattle across the road.

Officers investigated and reviewed video footage from the bus.

They determined that the 55-year-old man stopped a Catoosa County school bus in this area. He parked his truck in a way that blocked the bus from passing.

At this time, a student “flashed an obscene hand gesture” toward Barrett’s wife and child, he told police.

Officers said Barrett demanded the student’s information. He then got into a heated argument with parents arriving on scene.

However, Barrett left the scene before officers arrived.

On Tuesday morning, he turned himself in at the Catoosa County Jail.

The sheriff’s office released Barrett on a $1,000 bond.