A man was shot Thursday after running from a Clayton County police officer and reaching in his pants, officials said.
Timothy Rutledge, 25, did not have life-threatening injuries in what is now the 13th officer-involved shooting in Georgia this year.
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And it occurred just days after a police officer was killed and two deputies were injured trying to make an arrest in Henry County.
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In the latest incident, Clayton County police were called to a Motel 6 to check for a suspicious person at 5:45 a.m., Deputy Chief Brian Danekes said.
When officers arrived at the motel in the 600 block of Southside Commercial Parkway near Jonesboro, they found the man and he took off running, police said.
“Rutledge ran from the officer and and the officer deployed his taser,” GBI spokesman Bahan Rich said in a statement.
Once officers caught up with the suspect, Danekes said the man “actually grabbed for his waistband,” prompting the officer to shoot.
Rutledge was shot in the foot and taken to Atlanta Medical Center, where he was treated and released back to the police department. Authorities have not said if Rutledge actually had a weapon in his waistband.
No officers were injured during the incident, police said.
The GBI is investigating the shooting, which is standard protocol in officer-involved shootings.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
The incident came on the heels of Friday’s deadly shooting in Henry County. Locust Grove police officer Chase Maddox, 26, was shot and killed and Henry County sheriff’s deputies Michael D. Corley and Ralph Sidwell “Sid” Callaway were wounded while serving an arrest warrant to Tierre Guthrie on Friday at a home on St. Francis Court, authorities said.
In 2017, the GBI investigated 95 officer-involved shootings. So far this year there have been 13 officer-involved shootings.
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