A west Georgia man was shot multiple times after deputies tried to arrest him and he rammed one with his car, officials said.
The incident Monday night in Muscogee County was Georgia’s fourth officer-involved shooting in a span of about eight hours. A fifth officer-involved shooting was reported in Clayton County early Tuesday morning.
RELATED: Clayton County officer involved in shooting outside Jonesboro
According to the GBI, Muscogee County sheriff’s deputies conducted surveillance at a Columbus apartment complex for several hours before they spotted 30-year-old Christopher O’Brien Lawrence about 11:30 p.m. He was wanted on multiple outstanding arrest warrants.
Deputies surrounded Lawrence when he came out of an apartment and climbed into the seat of a Toyota Camry, Special Agent Fred Wimberly said in a news release.
“At that time, Lawrence attempted to leave the area and when doing so, hit and injured a deputy with the Toyota Camry,” he said. “Three deputies discharged their handguns at Lawrence and then engaged in a brief chase in the parking lot of the apartment complex.”
The chase ended when Lawrence wrecked into a patrol vehicle. He was arrested, and deputies determined he had been shot multiple times.
Both Lawrence and the deputy injured by his vehicle were taken to a hospital and are expected to survive, according to the GBI.
Agents were asked to take over the officer-involved shooting investigation early Tuesday morning. It is the 27th conducted by the GBI in 2020, spokeswoman Nelly Miles said.
Earlier Monday, the GBI investigated an officer-involved shooting in Albany and two more in Atlanta.
The agency has not confirmed it is investigating the incident in Clayton County on Tuesday morning. Police in that jurisdiction said an officer and a suspect exchanged gunfire, and the suspect was taken into custody.
It would be the 28th police shooting this year.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don't involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI's tally.
In other news:
About the Author
