GBI Investigating Officer Involved Shooting in Lowndes County

UPDATE: The man involved in this OIS has been identified as Raymond Whitfield Tarbox, II, 43, of Valdosta, GA.

ORIGINAL RELEASE:

Valdosta, GA (March 12, 2021)  - On Friday, March 12, 2021, at approximately 11:30 a.m., the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was requested by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office to investigate an officer involved shooting.

On March 12, 2021, two Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office deputies went to serve a court order to take a man into custody at The Gables Apartments at 1415 St. Augustine Road, Valdosta, GA. Upon arrival, the man resisted the deputies and was armed with a butcher knife. The man became combative and deputies deployed a Taser on him, which was ineffective. At some point during the incident, the man lunged towards the deputies with the knife. One of the deputies fired his service weapon, striking the man. The man was pronounced deceased at the scene. The man’s body will be transported to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in Decatur for autopsy.

The ID for the man involved in this incident is pending next of kin notification. No officers were injured during the incident.

The GBI will conduct an independent investigation. Once completed, the case will be turned over to the Lowndes County District Attorney's Office for review.