The Georgia State Patrol confirmed Friday that a DeKalb County man shot in the buttocks by a trooper Thursday morning was likely unarmed.
Witnesses said Terico Powell, 35, was holding a cell phone, but GSP spokesman Col. Mark McDonough said only that authorities did not locate a weapon at the scene of the shooting. Troopers did find cocaine and drug paraphernalia on Powell, who is expected to be released from Grady Memorial Hospital on Monday.
Public records show that Powell has been in and out of jail several times since 2010, mostly for non-violent, drug-related offenses.
Meanwhile, the trooper who shot him has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the GBI, standard procedure for such incidents.
According to McDonough, Sgt. G.A. Shackleford observed Powell and another man exiting a tractor-trailer near the intersection of Wendell Drive and Fulton Industrial Boulevard. One man was chasing the other, and the trooper intervened, ordering both men to halt. McDonough said Shackleford instructed Powell to drop the object in his hand but said the suspect failed to do so.
“The officer has a split second to decide, ‘Do I protect myself or do I wait to see what happens?’ ” McDonough said. “It’s a very difficult situation for the officer to be in.”
Shackleford, an Air Force veteran, is “an outstanding trooper … somebody that we would look for other troopers to emulate,” McDonough said.
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