A man who allegedly tried to steal a police cruiser early Tuesday morning was fatally shot by Lawrenceville officers, state officials said.
Around 3 a.m., officers were conducting a traffic stop on Ga. 120 near Pike Park Drive when a black Kia Sorento sped past them, according to the GBI, which is investigating the incident. The Kia’s driver then made a U-turn and drove back toward the officers and got out of the car.
At that point, the driver, identified as 33-year-old John Michael Cicalo Jr. of Dacula, tried to steal the police vehicle, GBI spokesperson Nelly Miles said.
“The officers gave the driver verbal commands to comply and ultimately shot and killed the driver,” she said.
No further explanation was provided about the officers’ decision to use deadly force. It was not clear if Cicalo was armed.
During the investigation, West Pike Street was closed from Old Norcross Road to Langley Drive in an area between the Lawrenceville square to the east and Northside Hospital Gwinnett to the west.
Antonio Guevara, who works within the closed-off area, had been waiting to be allowed into his office, but he decided instead to work from home, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“It’s a little uncomfortable,” he said upon learning what had happened. “But ... something like that can happen anywhere.”
Once complete, the GBI’s case file will be given to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office for review.
Tuesday’s incident is the 74th officer-involved shooting the state agency has been asked to investigate in 2023. At this point last year, there had been 92.
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