A man was killed Wednesday evening after he aimed a gun at SWAT officers in South Georgia, GBI officials said.
Thomas County 911 got a call just after 7 p.m. about a man walking along County Line Road in Thomasville, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said. Thomasville is roughly 230 miles south of Atlanta.
Deputies arrived to the scene and found the man, identified as 37-year-old Jomeika Minter, “talking irrationally and carrying a pistol,” Miles said.
“Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation through offers of assistance,” Miles said. “However, the man was not responsive and maintained possession of the weapon.”
Witnesses told the GBI that deputies made repeated attempts to speak to Minter, offer him help and get him to drop the gun.
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When that didn’t work, Miles said Thomas County SWAT officers continued to follow Minter as he walked along the road.
“Officers deployed a non-lethal flexible baton (bean bag) round, but it was unsuccessful,” she said.
That’s when Minter pointed his gun toward the officers and Thomas County sheriff’s Deputy Tyler Lamon fatally shot him, Miles said. Lamon is a member of the SWAT team.
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It was the 68th officer-involved shooting in Georgia this year, Miles said. In 2016, the GBI investigated 77 officer-involved shooting incidents.
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