A northwest Georgia sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man early Tuesday morning following a traffic stop and chase, authorities said.
The deputy tried to pull over the man near Resaca, just off I-75 between Calhoun and Dalton, around 1 a.m. for not having a tag light, officials said. Instead of stopping, the man led the deputy on a chase that ended at his home in the small community of Sugar Valley, Gordon County Sheriff Mitch Ralston said.
The man, identified by the GBI as 51-year-old Billy Dewayne Couch, drove to the back of the home and the deputy was able to block the vehicle from fleeing again. The deputy then gave Couch commands to show his hands, according to the state agency.
Couch got out of the vehicle, and the GBI said the deputy continued to give him commands.
“During the incident, the deputy shot Couch,” the agency said, adding that Couch was taken to a hospital and later died.
According to Ralston, the deputy fired at Couch while trying to arrest him. No law enforcement officers were injured.
Tuesday’s incident is the ninth officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year.
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