GBI asked to investigate Sylvester officer involved shooting

SYLVESTER — The GBI was requested by the Sylvester Police Department to conduct an officer-involved shooting investigation at 615 E. Franklin St. in Sylvester on Saturday.

Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 2:30 a.m., a Sylvester Police Officer was attempting to conduct a traffic stop in the city. A brief car chase ensued with the subject fleeing the scene on foot. Approximately three hours later, multiple 911 calls were received describing a suspicious person that matched the description of the subject from the earlier car chase in the area of where the subject fled on foot. A Sylvester Police Officer encountered the subject, later identified as Jakerion Shmoud Jackson, 19. This encounter led to the officer discharging his firearm, resulting in Jackson being struck. Jackson was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

A GBI Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy on Jackson.

No officers were injured in this incident.

The GBI will conduct its independent investigation. Once complete, it will be turned over to the Tift Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review.

This is the 81st officer-involved shooting that the GBI has been requested to investigate in 2020.

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