ROBERTA, Ga. — The GBI is investigating after a Crawford County deputy fatally shot a man off U.S. 341 Sunday afternoon. As of now, there are still some unanswered questions, but this is what we know so far...
According to the GBI, a Crawford County deputy who has not been identified yet tried to pull over 47-year-old Denrick Stallings for speeding.
The GBI says Stallings refused to stop and led the deputy on a chase for several miles until he crashed his car. That’s when investigators say he got out of the car and ran away from the deputy.
The deputy deployed his Taser, hitting Stallings and causing him to fall to the ground.
The GBI says when the deputy tried to arrest Stallings, he started to fight back and -- during the struggle -- he tried to grab the deputy’s gun. The deputy then fired the gun, killing Stallings.
“He’s not a bad man. I’m not saying by no means that it’s okay to run from officers – it’s not – it’s not okay. I’m not saying what he did was good, but I’m saying what he did didn’t deserve death. He didn’t deserve death,” said his daughter, Dendree Cox.
Cox says she doesn’t believe what the GBI found in their preliminary investigation. She adds fighting with a deputy and attempting to grab a gun is extremely out of her dad’s character.
The GBI says they’re continuing to investigate and findings will be turned over to the district attorney’s office.
The agency is also investigating after a Georgia State Patrol trooper shot a teenage girl following a chase in Toombs County Sunday.