Story Published:
Apr 4, 2009 at 8:58 PM EST
Story Updated:
Apr 4, 2009 at 8:58 PM EST
WADLEY, Ga. - The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into a deadly shooting in Jefferson County that involved a police officer.
Friday evening Jerry Conner was shot by police at the intersection of East Smith Street and North Main Street in Wadley Georgia. He later died.
“I heard the pops. Pop pop pop. And he fell there in the road,” Conner’s wife said.
She did not want to be identified but told 26 News that Friday afternoon she watched as her husband of 22 years lie in the street. He was shot after an altercation with the Wadley Police Department.
Conner's wife says officers were called to their street when Conner and one of their sons got into an argument. She shared pictures of her husband through the years with 26 News and told us recently Conner had been having some hard times.
“He's been drinking and there have been some family things in the past three years. He's lost 3 family members. His mother, his father and his brother. This may have been exactly what he wanted,” Conner’s wife said.
Police Chief Wesley Lewis says part time officer Patrick Paquette who also works for the Richmond County Board of Education was called as back up. He says when Paquette arrived at the scene Conner was in the street with a knife and started coming toward him.
“During that time they gave him multiple commands to drop the weapon which at that time Officer Paquette had to make the decision on using deadly force,” Lewis said.
Conner later died at the hospital. It's a fate his wife says he didn't deserve.
“Shooting him may have been necessary but not killing him. Why not the legs? Why not his foot? Why his heart?” she said.
“You're going to have different people saying this happened. That's why we called the GBI in to do a thorough investigation with out it being one sided,” Lewis said.
An investigation that's expected to take several weeks until then Officer Paquette will be on leave.
One of the patrol cars at the scene of the shooting did have a dash cam, but it was not turned on to capture anything during the incident.
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