Mississippi man in critical condition after being shot as he attempted to run down Georgia trooper, investigators say

Published 9:20 pm Sunday, December 19, 2021

A Mississippi man was in critical condition after he was shot while allegedly trying to run over a state trooper after a chase, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

News reports say the bureau identified him as 30-year-old Willie Lee Austin. The man’s hometown was not given.

The chase began in Polk County, where an officer tried to flag down a truck that was running other vehicles off the road, Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd told WXIA-TV.

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It continued into Haralson County, where a state trooper performed a PIT maneuver, bumping the truck to make it spin out and stop, on U.S. 27, Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The bureau said a trooper and a deputy approached the truck, which drove toward the trooper, and both officers fired into the truck, WSB-TV reported.

Neither a female passenger in the truck nor either officer was injured, the station said.