A taxi cab passenger is dead after a dispute over a taxi fare escalated to the point a deputy opened fire.
The GBI is investigating the shooting, which occurred in in Commerce on Wednesday.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, preliminary information indicates that a deputy of the Banks County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for service about a man refusing to pay a taxi fare to a local taxi driver.
The deputy arrived at a home on Hebron Court in Commerce where he had contact with the taxi driver and with the taxi’s passenger whose identity is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.
According to the GBI, when the deputy gave the man commands in order to take the man into custody, the man grabbed a metal pipe and advanced towards the deputy, continuing to ignore the deputy’s commands.
The deputy fired his gun, hitting the man. EMS provided medical aid, and the man was pronounced dead on the scene.
The body of the deceased man will be taken to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy.
The GBI will conduct an independent investigation. Once complete, the case file will be given to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.
This is the 31st officer involved shooting the GBI has been requested to investigate in 2022.
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