A man is dead after a Woodstock police officer shot him Wednesday evening following a traffic stop that turned into a chase along I-575.
What happened: Officers pulled over a vehicle near I-575 Exit 7 at Highway 92 around 6:38 p.m. The suspect fled after initial contact with officers. Police chased him to the area of I-575 Exit 8 at Towne Lake Parkway, where the suspect fired at officers. One officer returned fire and struck the suspect.
Medical crews responded and treated the suspect at the scene, but he was pronounced dead.
The officer: One officer suffered a non-life-threatening injury during the incident. No other officers were hurt. The officer’s name has not been released.
The investigation: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the state’s independent law enforcement agency, has been asked to investigate the shooting. Under standard practice in Georgia, the GBI investigates officer-involved shootings separately from the agency whose officer fired the weapon. The GBI’s findings are typically turned over to a local prosecutor, who decides whether any charges are warranted.
The Path Forward: The GBI investigation will determine the circumstances of the shooting. Until that review is complete, no further details about the suspect, the original traffic stop, or the officer involved are expected to be released.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
