Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson today released the name of his deputy involved in a gunfire exchange Wednesday between a Rossville, Ga., man and law enforcement authorities.
Deputy Terry Miller, a 13-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, was attempting to serve three warrants for aggravated stalking, harassing telephone calls and violating a temporary protective order on John Curtis Coates, 34, of Rossville.
While trying to arrest Mr. Coates in the Chick-fil-A parking lot on Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., Deputy Miller called for back-up. Both he and Fort Oglethorpe Police Officer Mitchell Moore encountered resistance from Mr. Coates, Sheriff Wilson said.
During a struggle with officers, Mr. Coates retrieved a handgun from his vehicle’s glove box and fired, striking Officer Moore in the back. The bullet deflected off his body armor.
Deputy Miller then fired his service weapon in self-defense and hit Mr. Coates, who was transported to Hutcheson Medical Center and pronounced dead, Sheriff Wilson said.
An autopsy is scheduled today at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Decatur, Ga. The GBI continues its investigation.
See tomorrow’s Times Free Press for complete details.
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