Just before 11:20 p.m. Monday, what started as an attempted traffic stop in Forest Park turned volatile when a Clayton County deputy fired at a stolen car at the intersection of Jonesboro Road and Conley Road, authorities said. The driver sped off and managed to get away. The vehicle was later found abandoned several miles away near the airport, and evidence inside suggests the driver may have been injured.
According to Atlanta News First, deputies tried to box in the stolen vehicle when the driver threw the car in reverse and hit the front of a marked patrol unit, then lurched forward to escape. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says a deputy fired multiple rounds at the car as it sped away. The abandoned vehicle was later located about seven miles from the scene on Southampton Road, just south of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in College Park. The driver has not been identified, and the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office has asked the GBI to investigate the shooting.
GBI to Review Case, Then Hand File to Prosecutors
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation typically steps in on officer-involved shootings to conduct an independent probe and keep the fact-finding separate from local charging decisions. After its agents gather statements, videos and forensic evidence, the bureau generally forwards the full case file to local prosecutors for review. The GBI has used the same approach in prior Clayton County cases.
Recent Use-of-Force Cases Put Spotlight On County Policing
This latest shooting drops into a year where Clayton County deputies have already faced scrutiny over other uses of force. In April, deputies shot an armed robbery suspect after a pursuit beneath the airport runway tunnel, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta. Those cases, like Monday night’s incident, are routinely handed to the GBI for an outside look before landing on a prosecutor’s desk.
Community groups and defense attorneys have repeatedly pressed for transparency in those investigations, while prosecutors ultimately decide whether any criminal charges are warranted once they receive the bureau’s file.
More details are expected as the GBI finishes its work and turns the case over to the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office. As of Tuesday evening, investigators and the sheriff’s office had not released additional information, according to Atlanta News First.
