Georgia Bureau of Investigation identifies woman killed in officer-involved shooting

Woman shot, killed after allegedly firing at officers in Calhoun, Georgia

Shooting tile black background red circle
Shooting tile black background red circle

LATEST UPDATE: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified Tameka LaShay Simpson, 27, of Columbus, Georgia, as the woman killed by a Calhoun Police Department officer on Tuesday.

GBI Public Affairs Director Nelly Miles said Simpson was the passenger in a car at the BP gas station, located at 312 S. Wall Street, while the driver was inside the convenience store around 3 p.m. Monday. The driver, who has not been identified, was short on change as she tried to buy cigarettes.

Miles said Officer Jeremy Thompson was inside the store and helped pay for the woman's cigarettes. They walked outside together. Thompson said he smelled marijuana coming out of the woman's car, and he called for backup.

When Officer Joe Yother arrived, they asked Simpson for identification. Miles said Simpson then pulled a gun and fired at the officers. They fired back.

The officers killed Simpson. One of her shots hit Yother on the arm and ricocheted to his chest, but his cellphone absorbed the damage. Yother went to a local hospital but was expected to recover.

Police arrested the other woman on an unrelated charge.

"Our GBI Calhoun office is in the very early stages of this independent investigation," Miles said during a news conference Tuesday evening. "At this point, once the investigation is complete, it will be turned over to the Cherokee Judicial Circuit for review."

___

UPDATE: Tameka LaShay Simpson, 27, of Columbus, has been identified as the woman killed Tuesday in an officer-involved shooting in Calhoun, Georgia, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation news release.

An autopsy will be performed at the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur.

The department also corrected previous statements about which officer was on scene first at the BP, located at 312 South Wall St.

The GBI originally said Officer Joe Yother met a woman at the gas station, which led him to Simpson. But in an updated release this morning, a department spokeswoman says that actually Officer Jeremy Thompson met Simpson and the other woman at the gas station.

When he smelled marijuana coming out of their car, according to the GBI, he called for backup.

Yother responded to Thompson's request.

___

ORIGINAL STORY: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that a woman died Tuesday in an officer-involved shooting in Calhoun, Georgia.

GBI Public Affairs Director Nelly Miles said Calhoun police officers fired at a woman in a car outside a BP gas station Tuesday afternoon after the woman fired shots at them.

Miles said Officer Joe Yother helped a woman pay for cigarettes inside the convenience store. They walked out together, and Yother said he smelled marijuana wafting from inside the woman's car. He called for backup.

When Officer Jeremy Thompson arrived, Miles said he and Yother asked the passenger inside the car for identification. Instead, the woman allegedly pulled out a gun and opened fire.

Thompson and Yother fired back and killed the woman, Miles said. One of the woman's shots hit Yother in the arm. The bullet richocheted to his chest, but it hit his cellphone. The officer went to a hospital, and the GBI said he is expected to recover.

The female driver was taken into custody on unrelated charges.

"Our GBI Calhoun office is in the very early stages of this independent investigation," Miles said during a news conference Tuesday evening. "At this point, once the investigation is complete, it will be turned over to the Cherokee Judicial Circuit for review."

Upcoming Events