ATLANTA -- Monday's officer-involved shooting in Franklin County marks the 19th such shooting since the beginning of April.
When officers are involved in a shooting, law enforcement agencies across the state contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in order for an outside agency to provide an independent level of transparency related to officer-involved incidents.
GBI director Vernon Keenan calls the increase in violence an "epidemic."
"I think the use of force against law enforcement is exceedingly high,” Keenan said. “In fact, I think there is an epidemic across the United States."
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Keenan says his office is being stretched thin with the large number of officer-involved shootings.
"These are very serious investigations,” he explained. “The public expects and has a right to a detailed investigation and accountability into what has happened with use of force."
In 2011, there were 37 officer-involved shootings, and that number has increased significantly since that point. So far in 2018, the GBI says there have been 37 officer-involved shootings. In 22 of the cases, the subjects were fatally shot and in one other case, a police officer was killed.
Police use-of-force by firearm GBI investigations:
- 2011 - 37 shooting investigations (12 deaths)
- 2012 - 58 shooting investigations (25 deaths)
- 2013 - 48 shooting investigations (23 deaths)
- 2014 - 47 shooting investigations (14 deaths)
- 2015 - 59 shooting investigations (28 deaths)
- 2016 - 77 shooting investigations (24 deaths)
- 2017 - 88 shooting investigations (29 deaths)
- 2018* - 37 shooting investigations (22 deaths) *As of April 14
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April 4
Pike County deputies received a 911 call reporting a person holding a gun on another. When they arrived, they found 70-year-old Grady Parks, armed with a shotgun and a handgun, chasing the person who initially called 911.
Deputies ordered Parks to drop his weapons, but Parks did not comply.
A deputy used a Taser in an attempt to subdue Parks, which wasn't successful. A GBI investigation says there was a 'brief struggle' between Parks and deputies, followed by a moment when Parks raised his shotgun and fired. His shot missed. A deputy returned fire, striking Parks twice.
Parks was transported to Spalding Regional Hospital, where he later died. No one else was reported hurt in the incident.
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April 12
A west Atlanta man was shot and killed by police after he had fired at police and barricaded himself inside a home.
Atlanta Police were summoned to a home in the 1400 block of Kennesaw Drive on a report of shots fired. When officers arrived, they were fired upon also.
Police negotiators and the family of suspect Deshawn Shepard were able to get through to him at some point during the standoff, but that ended when Shepard confronted officers, refusing to surrender.
“SWAT officers fired and it appears the suspect was struck,” Atlanta Police spokesperson Donald Hannah said.
Shepard was pronounced dead at the scene.
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April 14
A man already under arrest was shot and killed by Carroll County deputies when he tried to run them down in a patrol car.
According to GBI investigators, Jesse Thedford had been arrested on drug charges, handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car. Investigators said Thedford was able to get through the partition in the car and into the driver's seat.
When he began to drive toward law enforcement officers, a deputy fired once into the car, striking Thedford. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died.
April 17
Officers shot and killed a 25-year-old man at the Guest Inn Motel off of I-20 in Austell after a police officer was dragged by a car attempting to flee the area.
Cobb County Police officers discovered Sanchez Lowe in a room at the hotel where they had smelled drugs during a routine walkthrough. As they talked to Lowe, he attempted to flee, jumping into a car and trying to drive off.
A GBI investigation indicated an officer was dragged by the car, which led to him firing at the car, killing Lowe.
April 18
Justin Oakes, 32, was killed after he entered the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and stabbed one deputy and wounded a commander.
Oakes went into the restroom of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office looking for a place to stay at about 10:30 pm on April 17. Then, he asked for water from deputies before staying nearby until 2 am on April 18.
He then went into a restroom and called 911, claiming he had been poisoned. A deputy and commander entered the restroom to try to help Oakes. A Taser was used to try to subdue him, but, Sheriff Tim Pounds says, he was not down for long.
Oakes pulled out a knife and stabbed the deputy and managed to wound the commander. The deputy shot and killed Oakes.
April 26
Police shot and wounded a 30-year-old man in Villa Rica after he drove at officers.
According to police, officers were summoned to a convenience store to investigate a disturbance. When they arrived, they met with Daniel Daigle, 30, and began to question him. Before they could finish their questions, Daigle got into his car and tried to flee.
He struck an air pump and a pole, nearly striking a police car as he left. Officers fired at the car as it left.
Hours later, officers found Daigle inside a home nearby. They discovered he had been shot in the right forearm and left leg. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
April 27
A Centerville police officer was wounded while responding to a domestic dispute call.
The suspect, Perry Baggett, fired at officers when they arrived at the home in the 100 block of Jeannette Place. Officer Jeremy Mashuga was struck once in the stomach and once in his foot.
Mashuga was taken to Navicent Health Center in Macon for treatment.
Officers returned fire during the incident. Once SWAT teams were able to gain entry to the home where he had barricaded himself, they discovered that Baggett had been struck in the hand. He was treated at a local hospital.
April 28
Johns Creek Police shot and killed a woman who would not put down a knife she was holding, even after she had been used a stun gun.
Dispatchers said they had received reports of a "demented person" with a knife. While en route to the home where the call had come from, they encountered Shukri Ali Said walking down a nearby street. Police said she had a knife in hand at the time.
Police said that after several attempts at de-escalation -- including the use of a Taser and foam exact-impact rounds, the woman wouldn't drop the knife. A police officer then shot Said.
She was taken to Emory Johns Creek Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
April 30
A Georgia State University police officer shot a man at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Atlanta.
Williams Davis was acting erratically and began to fight with the officer. The officer attempted to use pepper spray, however, Davis continued to fight with the officer.
This resulted in the officer shooting Davis, who was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment.
May 2
Damon Collier was shot and killed by police after pulling a gun on police officers in Columbus.
Police said they had been looking for Collier in connection with a couple of murders in Columbus. When officers saw him on May 2, they attempted a traffic stop. Collier pulled a gun and pointed it at officers.
After Collier was shot by officers, he was transported to Piedmont Medical Center where he later died.
May 3
A Liberty County man was shot after he pointed a gun at deputies at his home to serve a warrant.
After Liberty County Sheriff's deputies arrived to serve a narcotics search warrant at Charles Hyde's home, Hyde pulled out a gun and pointed it at deputies.
One of the deputies fired at Hyde, hitting him in the hand. He was taken to Memorial University Medical Center for treatment
May 4
Forty-six-year-old Norris Duffy was shot and killed by an off-duty Fulton County deputy outside a restaurant in southwest Atlanta.
Police said Duffy had been involved in a fight inside the Ivory Restaurant in the 500 block of Whitehall Street earlier in the morning and was stun gunned before leaving.
An off-duty deputy working security at the restaurant noticed Duffy brandishing an assault rifle outside his car and opened fire.
Duffy was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital in serious condition but later died.
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May 4
An Atlanta police officer shot a 17-year-old during a "running gun battle" on Friday.
They said an undercover officer observed a stolen vehicle and began to follow it while calling for backup. When it pulled over in the 500 block of Cleveland Avenue, the driver and a female passenger got out and "immediately began firing at the officer," according to Atlanta Police Sgt. John Chaffee.
Police returned fire, hitting Jamal Baker in the hand and leg. He was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
May 6
Thirty-two-year-old Terence Leslie was shot to death by police after they said he began fighting with an officer during a sobriety check.
A GBI investigation says after police pulled Leslie over at an Exxon gas station, he began to fight with the officer. The officer pulled out his Taser. Police said Leslie grabbed at the Taser and broke a bone in the officer's arm.
The officer fired multiple shots at Leslie, hitting him. Leslie hopped back into his car and drove a short distance before hitting a pole at a nearby Texaco gas station.
Leslie was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died.
► RELATED | Man shot to death by police during sobriety check | 10th officer-involved shooting in 10 days
May 6
A man thought to be behind a fatal shooting in Cordele, Ga., was shot while officers apprehended him.
James Smith was holed up in a Perry motel room and fired at SWAT officers who came to arrest him. Officers returned fire. Smith was not hit during the exchange of gunfire.
He was taken into custody without further incident.
May 7
Police shot and killed a Cedartown woman after she opened fire on officers following a police chase.
The GBI says the incident began when Cave Springs Police tried to pull over Kimberley McCann for driving too fast through a school zone. When she refused to stop, a chase ensued.
At the conclusion of the chase, McCann got out of her pickup and opened fire at officers. Four officers returned fire, killing her.
► RELATED | GBI called in after officer shoots, kills woman
May 11
Police were conducting surveillance for a prostitution investigation when they saw Jaquan Barnes bring an underaged female to a Courtyard Mariott hotel in the 6200 block of Peachtree Dunwoody Road.
When officers tried to arrest Barnes, he tried to drive off, hitting two Sandy Springs police vehicles. When Barnes then drove toward officers, they shot at the suspect, hitting him in the hand.
He was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
May 13
A verbal altercation at a Forest Park restaurant led to a suspect being shot and killed by an off-duty police officer.
Two men and a woman were inside the restaurant when they said another man began acting inappropriately around her. The group left the restaurant and were followed by the suspect, police said.
An argument ensued, which led to the suspect firing a weapon at the group but missed.
The officer was working security at a nearby church when he saw the commotion. He confronted the suspect, demanding that he drop the weapon. The suspect refused and fired at the officer. The officer returned fire, hitting and killing the suspect.
May 13
A Franklin County man was shot and killed by a Franklin County Sheriff's deputy during a domestic disturbance Sunday night.
When deputies arrived, they discovered one person suffering from a gunshot wound, and at least two others were inside, each with severe injuries. When 54-year-old James Brian Kay came out of the home and fired a shotgun at deputies, one returned fire, striking and killing Kay.
