Paulding man shot by drug agents was armed with pepper spray
A Hiram man shot and killed after a face-off with drug task force agents was armed with pepper spray, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
Paulding County Sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Ashley Henson said 60-year-old Danny Hammett ignored the agents’ instructions after they had entered his home in the 3800 block of Nebo Road Wednesday afternoon.
“He was instructed to show his hands. He did not comply,” said Henson, adding deputies observed “something black and shiny” in the suspect’s hands.
Hammett eventually raised his hands in “an aggressive manner,” pointing his pepper spray toward the officers, who then opened fire, Henson said.
“The windows in the front of the house were blacked out and it was very dark inside,” the sheriff’s spokesman said.
Hammett’s son told Channel 2 Action News that his father was unarmed. “They killed an innocent man and that’s all there is to say,” Clyde Hammett said.
However, Henson said, “pepper spray is a weapon.”
The task force — which includes deputies from Harlason and Paulding counties along with officers from the Dallas, Tallapoosa and Bremen police departments — had been investigating Hammett for months, Henson said.
Henson said agents found “evidence … within the residence that would indicate drug trafficking.”
Danny Hammett served a little more than two years in prison for methamphetamine and marijuana possession in the late 1990s.
The three agents who fired shots at Hammett were placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the GBI.
About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
