The family of a critically injured homeless man said they aren’t sure if he will make a full recovery after a Coweta County deputy shot him in the head.
Nicholas Bolton, 34, has been at Atlanta Medical Center since he was shot following an altercation and car chase June 30. Bolton’s younger brother, Irwin Bolton Jr., said his brother is still depending on a ventilator to keep him alive days after the incident.
“He’s not breathing on his own,” he said. “Nothing has been removed from him.”
Bolton said his brother has undergone numerous surgeries since the shooting: one to remove the bullet that was lodged under his right eye, another to address the vision problems he now faces, and yet another on his brain.
The incident started as a confrontation in the parking lot of the Newnan Crossing Shopping Center near Bullsboro Drive, where Bolton was sleeping in his car about 2:30 a.m., AJC.com previously reported.
Attorney Tanya Miller, who is representing the family, said Bolton is “staunchly, fiercely independent” and had been living in his car since falling on hard times.
A deputy who was on patrol at the shopping center noticed a white SUV parked in the lot behind the T-Mobile cellphone store, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles previously said. He notified dispatch and got out of his patrol car to investigate.
RELATED: Coweta County deputy shoots man after chase and crash, GBI says
In body camera footage released by the GBI, a deputy finds Bolton asleep in the back seat. Bolton appears to stir when the deputy shines his flashlight through the window. He appears to be lying on piles of his belongings.
The video shows Bolton climb into the front seat. At that point, the deputies begin speaking with him through the window.
Credit: Coweta County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Coweta County Sheriff's Office
“Let me explain something to you real quick,” a deputy says. “We don’t know you. We’re investigating why you’re here.”
“For what?” Bolton asks in reply.
“For loitering,” the deputy says. “You’re loitering. And now that you’re not stepping out of the car, you’re obstructing an investigation. So you can either get out and talk to us, or we can take you out and go to jail.”
The video shows the deputy once again giving Bolton the options of getting out or going to jail. He then appears to put the car in drive and begins pulling out of the parking spot.
The video shows a deputy pointing a gun at Bolton’s vehicle as he pulls off. The deputy commands Bolton to turn the car off as he continues driving away.
MORE: Coweta County sheriff defends deputy's shooting after seeing body camera footage
The deputies climb back into their patrol cars and a chase ensues. According to the video, it lasts less than a full minute before a deputy, confirmed by the sheriff’s office as John Collins, uses a PIT maneuver to stop Bolton’s SUV.
“I thought it was going to end when he was boxed in,” Irwin Bolton Jr. said Tuesday after seeing the video.
Deputies previously said Bolton’s car was still running, wheels spinning, following the crash. The GBI’s statement said deputies tried to box in Bolton’s car with a patrol car, then walked over to him. The GBI said Collins fired “after he saw what he believed to be Bolton actively trying to drive his vehicle in the direction of the (second) deputy.”
In the video, Bolton’s vehicle spins and appears to come to a stop facing Collins’ patrol car. The deputy’s car appears to roll forward a little more and come to rest against Bolton’s SUV. The second deputy pulls to the left side of Bolton’s vehicle, blocking it in. That deputy then steps out and gives Bolton a verbal command to get out of the car. Collins then appears to fire through the man’s windshield.
The time between the second deputy stepping out of his car and Collins firing his gun appears to be less than three seconds, according to the video.
RELATED: Dashcam video shows tense moments before fatal shooting
Four deputies then surround Bolton’s car with guns drawn, the video shows. One breaks the window of the locked SUV in order to open Bolton’s door.
A deputy alerts dispatch that Bolton has a gunshot wound to the head, but is breathing.
A voice is heard saying; “Was there a weapon?”
“No,” a deputy says.
No officers were injured in the shooting, the GBI previously said.
Collins, who has been with the sheriff’s office for 16 months, was the only deputy placed on leave in connection with the shooting.
In a statement Wednesday the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office called Collins’ actions “necessary and justified.”
Miller called the sheriff’s office statement inappropriate, saying that the agents “exonerated themselves” prematurely and “usurped the GBI by declaring themselves vindicated” before the investigation is complete.
The Coweta sheriff’s office was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
The victim’s family is still trying to process the shock of the incident.
“We’ve learned how to pray through this process,” Irwin Bolton Jr. said.
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