| WSB News |
Pastor Gunned Down
(WSB Radio) -- The GBI has now taken over in the case of a 28-year old pastor gunned down by drug agents at a convenience store in Toccoa.
Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley tells WSB that Pastor Jonathan Ayers died after drug task force agents tried to stop his car in a gas station parking lot.
"He was struggling with the agents. He got back into the car, put the car in drive and started driving toward the other agent who fired two shots in to the automobile," Shirley said.
Shirley says Ayers crashed his car and later died at Stephens County Hospital. One person has been arrested in the case.
Ayers was pastor at the Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia. One friend says he was out buying tires for his wife's car when he was shot.
What others are saying
- It was nothing but MurderWhen a man raises a gun and shoots at you but misses, and then walks away, you have no right to shoot him in the back.
This is in the case of Mr Ayers, if you watched the video, Who has time to look behind them to see if anyone is there when you have two men coming at you with Guns and rocking your car. When he backed up and then put his car in drive and was pulling away, the other officer had no right to run up to the side of his car and shoot in, that is nothing but Murder. - Rev AyersI got something to say the the guy talking about getting shot if you dont listen to the cops. There is alot of police impersonations that happen in that neighborhood. Just because someone hops out of a thug looking SUV, with masks, and guns saying they are the cops will not make me stop. We have a right to fight for our hard earned cash. Rev Ayers prob had $400-$500 on him on his way to buy tires. Better yet he prob thought this was the prostitutes pimps coming after him for ministering to the woman. The cops better be glad it wasnt me because I heed my rights and have a concealed weapon permit. I would have unloaded on the ignorant rogues in this situation. We have the right to bear arms in this country to protect ourselves from over reaching govt. What state have we become when our cops go out killing innocent people. Enough is enough! Time for the people to regain power in this matter.
How bout the cops follow there own rule books and use a black and white to pull him over and detain him for questioning. How hard is it to remain calm. No we gotta hire ignorant cowboys to do the job and shoot up innocent people. Even if the pastor fell off the wagon (which I know he didnt) they should have followed the same procedure or nabbed him at a later time. God bless his family. Knowing him, Rev Ayers probably forgave the cop as he perished. Heaven is now a better place with his presence. - Re: Remember...To the poster hinting the Pastor was at fault for striking the officer with his car and that "if they had stopped him for a broken tail-light" the same thing would have happened. Well I'd hope that officers stopping me for a broken tail-light don't do it like this, because I would absolutely assume I was being attacked and my life is in danger.
- Police involved should be hangedImagine for a second you and your buddies wanted to kill someone who was about to drive off. I bet it would look about like what we see in the surveillance video. The police here acted completely irresponsible and are guilty of murder. Citizens should be treated with respect. Jonathan was obviously under the impression he was being attacked and attempted to drive away.
- Watch the gas station video...You can plainly see that he was NOT "struggling with agents". It's perfectly clear on the video that he was backing up when a unmarked truck pulls up and two guys jump out and then draw their weapons. Ayers then pulled forward to angle away from the truck because they tried to block him in, then he put it in reverse and started backing up and the other agent just stood behind the car instead of getting out of the way. There was no way they could have shouted that they were police officers in time, at all. This whole thing was over in about 5 - 10 seconds. While the video was grainy, I couldn't see any "badges" at all. They had guns out, not badges.
This is B.S. They screwed up big time. And what the hell were they doing in plain clothes??? If they were in a vehicle with all tinted windows (which makes it look like they were drug dealers themselves!!!) they could have been uniformed. They also could have followed the vehicle and called for backup! Since when is it necessary to fire shots into a vehicle when the occupant is not armed???
This is outrageous. - policeThis appears to be another example of adrenaline junkie police officers completely out of control. As we approach a 'police state' how many more of these needless killings must we endure?
- The Police Are LyingPastor Ayers had just withdrawn some cash out of the ATM when the police, believing him to be part of a drug deal, came after him wearing plainclothes. Ayers thought that he was the victim of an armed robbery and tried to get away, and the police shot him. It is very similar to the Amadou Diallo case in New York, where Diallo, being confronted with plainclothes officers carrying guns, thought he was the victim of a robbery attempt and tried to run away, and when he couldn't get away tried to offer whom he thought were the robbers his wallet and beeper. The police officers mistook the wallet and beeper for a gun and then shot him. After that incident, the NYPD ended their practice of causing citizens to mistake police officers for people trying to rob them.
Another thing: the police initially lied twice to the family about what happened to the pastor. First they claimed that he was in an automobile accident, then they claimed that he was killed by a drug dealer, then they acknowledged that he was shot by a police officer, but claimed that it was a random accident. - Where?Where is this video that is so bizarre that we have to see?
- Remember...As of yet there are no comments posted, but I figure there are some in the queue, and I imagine some will go on about how "if it weren't for the 'war on drugs' an innocent(?) man would still be alive today", or something like that. But let's not forget that he was not shot for being a drug suspect, he was shot for trying to run over police officers. If they had stopped him over a broken tail light (e.g. another bogus excuse to check somebody out), and he reacted the same way, the results would be the same. Let this be a reminder, folks, it doesn't matter how innocent you are, or how unjustified or unfair you think the police are--do what they say and do not make any action that can be interpreted as "resisting". Ever watched COPS?--they'll flip a half-crippled grandma over on her back and put their knees on her neck if she jerks her hand away while they try to put on the cuffs. If the stop or arrest is unwarranted, let the lawyers deal with it if you have to. But don't do anything to turn what could well be a minor event into possible criminal charges or even, sadly, a fatality. (And in case he thought they were car jackers, it should've gone down pretty much the same way--get out and let them have the car--trying to run them over would probably result in your getting shot as well).
- pastorI'm confused reading this report....was the pastor involved in a drug deal? Who was the one person arrested in the case and why?
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