Man fatally shot by Douglas sheriff's deputies

By Marcus K. Garner

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Douglas County Sheriff's deputies shot and killed a man Monday they said tried to run them over his partner with a car, police said.

Deputies responded around 4 p.m. to a report of a suspicious man climbing a fence in the parking lot of Maxham Plaza shopping center in the 400 block of Maxham Road.

The two deputies who responded didn't immediately find the suspect, but found his car in the parking lot and waited for his return, Sheriff Phil Miller said.

When the man returned to his car, Miller said the deputies approached the front of the car and ordered him to get out, Miller said.

"He put the car in gear, and turned the car toward the officer on the passenger side," Miller said. "The deputy fell and the other officer fired four shots into the wind, hitting the defendant."

The man was taken by ambulance to WellStar Cobb General Hospital in Austell, where the man died, authorities said.

The man has not been identified, pending notification of next of kin, police said.

Miller said police believe the man had burglarized one of the stores in the strip mall.

"He had some money and checks from the business," Miller said.

The GBI will investigate the shooting, and the two deputies have been placed on administrative leave as a routine part of any officer-involved shooting.

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