November 17, 2015
GBI Requested to Investigate an Early County Officer Involved Shooting
Arlington, GA. –On Tuesday November 17, 2015, the Early County Sheriff’s Office requested GBI’s Sylvester Regional Office to investigate an officer involved shooting by an Early County Deputy that resulted in the death of a white male.
Initial information provided to GBI indicates that at approximately 12:55 PM, Early County Deputies were dispatched to Jerry’s Country Meat and Catering Company on Highway 45 in Arlington, Georgia as a result of a 911 call regarding a man inside the store making disturbing comments to patrons of the store. As one of the responding deputies arrived on the scene, he observed a vehicle stopped in the middle of the roadway with its emergency flashers on. The deputy activated his emergency lights and approached the vehicle which was occupied by a white male. The male subject exited his car and approached the deputy. The deputy deployed his Taser after the male subject failed to obey the verbal commands being given by the deputy. The male subject broke free from the leads making the Taser ineffective and continued to advance on the deputy. The male subject struck the deputy and the deputy reportedly fired his weapon two times striking and killing the male subject.
The male subject will be transported to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in Macon, Georgia where an autopsy will be conducted. The GBI is conducting an independent investigation to determine what occurred during the incident. Once the GBI completes the investigation, the results will be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for any action that they deem appropriate.