BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified a man who was shot and killed Wednesday by police Bartow County.
According to the GBI, Brent Andrew Brannon, 27, died just before 11 a.m. after a traffic stop between Main Street and Highway 20.
Channel 2’s Ross Cavitt was there when GBI crime scene techs took over the shooting scene and pulled a handgun out of the SUV.
They said Emerson police officer Robert K. Smith, 24, was working traffic enforcement on Interstate 75.
Smith was alerted to a tag violation on a gold SUV and spotted it traveling north on the interstate.
When Smith pulled Brannon over, the GBI said a license check showed Brannon as being considered armed and dangerous and an escape risk.
Brannon also had outstanding warrants for trafficking in heroin, possession of a sawed-off rifle, sale of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The warrants were out of the Columbus Police Department, according to the GBI.
Smith requested backup, but before additional officers could arrive, the GBI said Brannon became non-compliant. Smith used his Taser, and when that did not work, Brannon pointed a gun at the officer.
Smith fired his weapon and Brannon was shot and killed, the GBI said.
Witnesses reported hearing as many as a dozen shots.
Cavitt spotted at least that many crime scene markers near the cars.
Hundreds of drivers were backed up in traffic and crept slowly by the scene. Brannon's SUV had a Georgia Veterans tag and a blown-out window.
The GBI said the stop and the shooting were caught on dashcam video.
Investigators said Brannon had at least two weapons in his SUV.
Brannon’s body will be taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in Decatur for an autopsy scheduled for Friday, according to the GBI.
WSBTV
