GA Police Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

You're a young pastor who has just dropped off a woman you've been counseling. You stop at a gas station to make a withdrawal from an ATM, and then go back out to your car.

A black SUV speeds into the station and two armed men pile out of it, shouting and trying running up to your car. What do you do?

If you're the 28-yr-old Rev. Jonathan Ayers, you probably think you're an intended victim of armed robbery, you panic, and then you die. Your killers will probably never go to trial, because they are undercover drug agents.

Police say they had no idea who Pastor Ayers was, and they just wanted to question him because his passenger was under investigation for drug charges. Oh, really?

Since when do police use shock-and-awe tactics just to question someone? How about just walking up to him as he exits the gas station, showing your badge, identifying yourself and saying, "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Sadly, too many police today are addicted to the adrenaline rush. They operate on adrenaline and testosterone, which tends to cloud good judgment.

In addition, too many have watched too many episodes of COPS. And too many police agencies have policies and procedures that ape those dramatic TV episodes.

The local GA Fox affiliate gave the sanitized version (police identified themselves twice, etc. etc.)of the story. Here's a link to a video with a little more complete report:

WYFF News 4

The security camera caught the whole incident on video, and it's over in seconds. Try stopping the video to see if you can find where the pastor "hits an agent" with his car. See anyone fall down? Anyone lying on the ground?



It looks to me as though the undercover agent ran around behind the car when it was already in motion. If he made contact, it's a tossup as to who ran into whom, and it certainly didn't seem to slow him down at all.

Pray for the poor family of this man who was gunned down by the very people sworn to protect him.