Roswell police shot and killed a man Sept. 3 who allegedly charged at them with an “edged weapon” after he was suspected of using the same weapon in an attempt to stab a MARTA bus driver, authorities said.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man killed as 37-year-old Jeremy Antoine Miller. He was homeless, and his identity was not made public for nearly a week as officials tried to make contact with his next of kin.
The GBI announced that Miller was taken to the hospital but died from his wounds.
No officers were hurt during the confrontation, and the bus driver escaped without injury, according to MARTA police.
The incident began on a MARTA bus in the 10000 block of Alpharetta Highway on Tuesday just before 2 p.m., Roswell police said. Miller allegedly became irate when asked to pay his bus fare and attacked the driver, a MARTA police spokeswoman said.
After the encounter, the bus driver felt comfortable enough to continue driving their route, MARTA police said.
When officers arrived, they found Miller in the area still carrying the same weapon, according to Roswell police. He charged at the officers, and at least one fired at the suspect and hit him, police said.
The GBI later said Miller was carrying scissors.
Photos from the scene showed a Roswell police cruiser parked on the sidewalk with its driver’s door open, the vehicle encircled in caution tape. Safety cones surrounded what appeared to be scattered clothing and a military-style backpack. Officials have not said how the police SUV was involved in the incident.
Alpharetta Highway was closed for hours between Houze Way and Mansell Road.
Roswell police has asked the GBI to conduct an independent investigation into the shooting, and all further updates will be released by the state agency.
Miller had a history of arrests in Fulton on minor charges like fare evasion and criminal trespass, online jail records show. He was also transferred from the jail to the county’s Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative at least twice, according to records. The PAD program is a non-profit organization that provides resources and reduces police involvement for people experiencing extreme poverty.
Miller’s shooting in Roswell was one of three such incidents the GBI was asked investigate Tuesday.
The first happened at the end of a domestic incident in Adairsville that began late Monday night, the GBI said. James Lee Rourks, 42, was shot after a confrontation with police at his home, according to the state agency.
Adairsville police first responded to Rourks’ home after a woman called 911 and abruptly hung up, the GBI said. Rourks then called 911 from the same number and told the operator that everything was fine, per the state agency.
Officers arrived at the home on Barnsley Village Drive and spoke to a woman who said Rourks had a gun, the GBI said. Rourks allegedly went inside the house and refused to comply with officers at the scene. Police then called the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office to assist with a possible barricaded gunman and, when deputies arrived, they entered the house and confronted Rourks.
One of the deputies shot Rourks and he was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the GBI said. Rourks has been charged with aggravated assault, strangulation and interfering with a 911 call, according to the state agency.
The second law enforcement shooting of the day involved the Georgia State Patrol and resulted in no injuries.
According to the GBI, the incident began when a trooper tried to pull over 53-year-old Roy Kyle Mathis in Berrien County. Mathis refused to stop and the trooper chased him, eventually stopping him momentarily with a PIT maneuver, the GBI said. The trooper tried to get Mathis out of his car, but Mathis drove toward him and the trooper fired a shot at the approaching vehicle, the GBI said.
The shot did not hit Mathis, who continued driving and turned down a dirt road and crashed into a tree in the yard of a private home, according to the GBI. The trooper used a Taser on Mathis while getting him out of the car, and the suspect was evaluated at the hospital before being booked into the Berrien jail, the state agency said.
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