Newly released body camera footage shows the moments before and after a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot and injured a man who crashed after deputies attempted to pull him over.
“Why did you shoot?” A supervising deputy can be heard saying after a rookie deputy shot and injured Cameron Hunt, 36.
The rookie officer responded that Hunt “went like this,” making a motion with his left arm. Deputies did not see a weapon on Hunt during the traffic stop.
While executing a search warrant on Hunt’s vehicle almost a month after the crash, investigators found a rifle inside the vehicle.
Hunt’s attorney, Graham Scofield, said the footage shows Hunt had his arms raised and was displaying his open palms to the officer before he was shot.
“It’s a simple, common sense rule that should guide all law enforcement officers because when someone has their hands in the air, like Mr. Hunt did, they are demonstrating submission and they’re not a threat,” Scofield said.
A Douglas County grand jury declined to bring charges against the officer involved.
Hunt was going 113 mph on I-20 in Douglas County on Nov. 19 when deputies tried to pull him over but Hunt refused to stop, officials said. Scofield said his client was trying to get to a well-lit area before pulling over.
As Hunt was exiting the interstate in Lithia Springs, he lost control and his SUV flipped over and landed upside down just off the road. The airbag deployed.
As deputies approached the vehicle, the GBI said, “Hunt made a motion with his hands and was shot once by a deputy.”
A deputy who arrived to the scene later can be heard describing what happened to a supervisor, the video shows. He said deputies arrived at the overturned car after a brief pursuit and opened the front driver door to find Hunt there. Deputies told Hunt to put his hands up, which he did.
“(Hunt) put his hand down real fast, towards his pants and threw his hands up again and that’s when (the rookie deputy) shot him,” the deputy said, adding that the supervising officer didn’t see a weapon on Hunt.
The deputy said the officer who fired the shot was “having a moment” and was “scared to death” over what happened, the video shows.
Scofield said officials are trying to “trump up” charges of felony fleeing on Hunt, who is still being held without bond at the Douglas County jail on two felony counts of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the indictment, Hunt was previously convicted of theft by receiving stolen property in Rockdale County back in 2017.
A trial has been tentatively scheduled for August 13, 2024 in Douglas County Superior Court.
Scofield said one of the officer said during a preliminary hearing that Hunt attempted to exit the road as soon as they caught up to him.
“It’s been a challenging time for him. It’s been almost seven or eight months that he’s been held awaiting trial,” said Scofield, who said a civil lawsuit alleging excessive deadly force is coming.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said the GBI investigated the case and turned it over to the District Attorney’s Office. The deputy who fired the shot is still employed by the agency.
The GBI said the case was given to the Douglas County DA’s Office and was no billed by a Douglas County Grand Jury last month. GBI agents are in the process of returning evidence, which will close the case on their end.
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