A man was fatally shot by South Georgia deputies after they said he climbed into the driver’s seat of a patrol car and tried to drive away as they were attempting to take him into custody Monday evening, according to the GBI.
Jason Lee Fralick, 43, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident, which happened at an address on Pine Park Road in Cairo, the GBI said in a statement.
Deputies encountered Fralick about 8:30 p.m. while responding to a 911 call at the address, the GBI said. A homeowner had called the Grady County sheriff’s office and said a man was on his property and wouldn’t leave.
The deputies tried to get Fralick off the property, but he refused to leave, the GBI said. They then tried to place him under arrest, and the man started resisting, officials said.
At one point, deputies managed to get a handcuff on the man, but he slipped out of their grasp. Deputies also tried to use pepper spray and Tasers on Fralick, but both proved ineffective, the GBI said.
During the fracas, Fralick climbed into a Grady County patrol car and started pulling off, at which point deputies began shooting at him, officials said.
Two Grady County deputies were standing near the open driver’s-side door when the man started reversing the car, the GBI said. The agency did not state if any deputies were injured during the incident.
They tried again to arrest the man, but he continued to resist, the GBI said.
“The man then began to drive forward out of the yard, when at this point, additional deputies fired their weapons at him,” the GBI said. “He was able to drive away and a short chase ensued before it ended.”
The GBI did not specify how the chase ended but said paramedics at the scene pronounced Fralick dead. His body was taken to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy.
It’s the 55th shooting involving a law enforcement officer the GBI has been asked to investigate 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.
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