Fed up with her son using drugs and eluding law enforcement, a Gwinnett County mother called police Monday afternoon to report his location.
Joan Morgan, of Sugar Hill, told police her son, Rodney Pike, was a wanted man who needed help during the call, obtained Tuesday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Morgan’s words proved an eerie foreshadowing of what was to come.
“He’s gonna run if he can get away,” Morgan told the operator. “Don’t shoot him. Please don’t hurt my baby.”
Within minutes of officers’ arrival, Pike was dead. After allegedly hitting one officer with his truck, Pike attempted to hit another officer before two other officers opened fire Monday afternoon on Pass Court in Sugar Hill.
Pike was listed as among the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office “Most Wanted” for failing to appear in Superior Court on theft by taking a motor vehicle and burglary, both felony charges, the sheriff’s office said. Pike also had an outstanding warrant for allegedly violating probation.
Monday afternoon, Pike was working at a family member’s home when his mother called police.
“It’s just time for him to go,” Morgan said during the call. “They’ve been looking for him for a long time.”
Pike had a history of using methamphetamine, was difficult to talk to, and was running, Morgan told police.
“I want him gotten before he leaves because he’s very active and he don’t stay in one place very long,” Morgan said. “I hated to do this, but he’s been on drugs on and off for a while and it’s just getting ridiculous.”
When officers arrived at the home on Pass Court, Pike refused to surrender, Cpl. Jake Smith with Gwinnett police said. Pike got into his truck and started it, prompting an officer to use a Taser on him. But it didn’t stop him, Smith said.
Pike struck one officer and was driving toward another when he was shot, Smith said. Pike died at the scene.
The injured officer, whose name was not released, will have to go through physical therapy and possibly surgery, but his injuries were not life-threatening, police said Tuesday.
The two officers involved in the shooting were placed on routine administrative leave, Smith said.
The shooting remains under investigation by the police department’s Deadly Force Investigation Team, composed of members of the Homicide Unit, the District Attorney’s Office, the Medical Examiner’s Office, the Crime Scene Unit, and the Internal Affairs Unit.
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