Athens-Clarke County police released a compilation of officers’ body-camera video showing the shooting of a man who engaged in an hour-long standoff after police tried to arrest him on charges of stealing a car.
Police received a tip via 911 about a stolen 2006 Nissan Titan parked at a local McDonald’s the morning of Feb. 18. When they arrived, the truck was not there, but they quickly located it on Commerce Road. After a medium-speed chase, police deployed stop sticks that punctured the truck’s tires, and it ran off Newton Bridge Road. The driver—later identified as Timothy Statham, 37, of Winterville—ran into the woods.
Police located Statham hiding in some brush and surrounded him. Officers negotiated with him to surrender for more than an hour and repeatedly asked him to show them his hands. Statham refused and, at one point, told officers, “I’ve got a lot more rounds than every one of y’all.” He also said he was afraid he’d receive a 20-year sentence.
Eventually an officer shot a foam round at Statham, which had no effect. Videos then show two officers shouting that Statham, who pulled a hand out of his shirt and appeared to be aiming something, had a gun, although it turned out he did not have a gun. They opened fire. Statham was declared dead at the scene by waiting emergency medical technicians.
Per ACCPD policy, the three officers involved—SPO Jamie Jones, Sgt. Tim Johnson and Officer Jerold Reynolds—have been placed on administrative leave pending a Georgia Bureau of Investigation report. Once the investigation is finished, District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez will decide whether to prosecute the officers.
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