SCREVEN COUNTY, Ga. — The GBI has arrested and charged a Georgia State Patrol trooper with murder after a fatal shooting last week.
According to a news release, investigators arrested 27-year-old Gordon Thompson this Friday on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.
The charges are a result of a shooting the GBI was called by GSP to investigate on Aug 7.
The GBI says Thompson tried to stop a Nissan Sentra for a traffic offense on Stoney Pond Road in Screven County, which is located about half an hour north of Statesboro.
The driver, identified as 60-year-old Julian Lewis, did not stop and a chase began. The chase ended when Thompson initiated a PIT maneuver and the car came to rest in a ditch.
The GBI says Thompson then fired a round at Lewis, and he died at the scene.
Following his arrest on Aug. 14, the Georgia Department of Safety issued the following statement:
“The Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) terminated Jacob G. Thompson today, Aug. 14, 2020, due to his “negligence or inefficiency in performing assigned duties; or commission of a felony.” Thompson was hired on July 28, 2013.
As stated in a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) press release, former Trooper Thompson was arrested on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault in Screven County relating to an officer involved shooting which occurred on August 7, 2020. The GBI investigation is active and ongoing.
In addition to an internal Office of Professional Standards investigation, DPS utilizes the GBI to independently investigate incidents of an officer involved shooting and relies on their unbiased findings in those cases.”
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