A suspect was shot and killed by Clayton County police during a roadside struggle with an officer that played out in the middle of Thursday’s Interstate 75 morning commute, authorities said.
The incident happened around 7:45 a.m. alongside I-75 northbound, just south of Old Dixie Highway overpass.
A suspicious person was standing next to a vehicle on the right shoulder of the expressway, Clayton County police spokesman Gary Syblis said.
Clayton County police Capt. Steve Branham said an officer on his way to work “witnessed what appeared to be a crime in progress.” Branham gave no details on that alleged crime.
The officer exited his vehicle and began to talk to the suspect, who became combative, started to fight and tried to take the officer’s weapon, Syblis said.
“The officer was able to maintain control of his weapon and, fearing for his life, was able to stop the actions of the suspect, by firing a shot,” Syblis said in a news release. The suspect died at the scene.
The officer was not injured, Branham said.
The incident is being investigated by the GBI and Clayton County’s Office of Professional Standards, officials said.
Crime scene tape cordoned off a portion of the interstate for the remainder of the morning rush hour, with northbound traffic squeezing by in the two left northbound lanes. The suspect’s body could be seen lying on the ground near the passenger side of a silver Honda sedan that was parked in the right emergency lane.
The two right lanes remained shut down through the early afternoon.
—Angel K. Brooks contributed to this report.
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