A man was shot to death by a Georgia State Patrol trooper Tuesday after authorities said he led law enforcement on a high-speed chase and then opened fire on officers who tried to take him into custody.
Kevin Christopher Caldwell, 33, of Sharpsburg, died in a hospital after the interaction with troopers in Columbus, according to the GBI.
The incident began as an attempted traffic stop on I-185 near mile marker 46 in Troup County, GBI spokeswoman Natalie Ammons said in a news release. A Troup sheriff’s deputy spotted a black BMW 545i driving 93 mph in a 70-mph zone about 4 p.m. and tried to pull it over.
When the driver — later identified as Caldwell — did not stop, the deputy sped after him and chased him into Harris County, Ammons said. A Harris deputy joined in the pursuit and used stop sticks to try to disable the vehicle, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
“At some point, a GSP trooper and a Motor Carrier Compliance Division officer joined in the pursuit,” Ammons said. “The pursuit continued on I-185 into Columbus, Muscogee County, Ga., where Caldwell got off at exit 6, Macon Road.”
When he exited at the base of the ramp, Caldwell crashed his car into a blue Toyota Corolla. The disabled vehicle stopped in the eastbound lanes of Macon Road.
That’s when Caldwell pulled out a gun and shot at officers, officials said. A trooper returned fire and struck Caldwell multiple times, the GBI said.
No officers were hurt during the incident. The driver of the Corolla was taken to a hospital for injuries related to the crash.
It’s the 38th shooting involving a law enforcement officer the GBI has investigated this year, and the 19th such incident to end in death. 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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