Dashcam video shows tense moments before fatal shooting

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A man who died after shooting at deputies in Coweta County Wednesday had several outstanding warrants for violent crimes, the Sheriff's Office said.

A deputy said he pulled over a car on Bullsboro Road in Newnan because he thought he recognized Michael Johnson, 21, as a wanted felon. Johnson was in the passenger seat, a woman was driving and a child was in the back seat.

Dashcam video shows what happened next.

After asking Johnson for his name and identification, the deputy walks back to his car. When he does, Johnson bails out the door. %

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“The officer is saying, ‘Stop! Stop!’ and that’s when he pulls the gun and ‘bam, bam, bam,’” Sheriff Mike Yeagar said.

In the dashcam video you can hear at least five bullets strike the officer’s SUV.

“The officer rolled out of the side of his door and was radioing in” Yeagar said,

In the video you hear the deputy yell, “Shots fired! Shots fired! Need help!”

One bullet went through the door and flew out the other side.

“I hear four to six shots and then I see the individual running alongside my truck with the gun,” witness Jim Bell said. “I was worried for my own safety because he looked very panicked.”

The sheriff says Johnson fired off several more rounds behind a car dealership. When officers ordered him to drop the gun, he fired again.

“That’s when officers returned fire, striking him,” Yeagar said.

Channel 2’s Tom Regan learned Johnson was wanted on nine warrants, including armed robbery, aggravated assault with a pistol, forgery and punching a woman who was pregnant with his baby. The sheriff says it's clear Johnson had no plans to surrender. %

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“This individual knew he was wanted and he wasn't going to go,” Yeagar said.

No officers were injured in the shooting or chase.

One bullet narrowly missed a salesman at the nearby car dealership.

“We heard about three shots. When the third one went off, that’s when we heard it hit the building,” Roy Parker said.

Parker and his colleague were standing right outside the showroom when the shooting started. The .45-caliber round pierced the side of the building a few feet above the spot where they were standing.

“We knew it was serious and we really needed to get out of the way,” he said. “(I’m) just glad everyone is safe.”

Cox Media Group