Paulding County

Family of suspect killed by deputy speaks

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating a deadly officer-involved shooting in Paulding County.

The Sheriff's Office said deputies went to a house on Township Drive to serve an arrest warrant for Brandon Lee Bohanan, 35.

Family members let deputies in and told them Bohanan was in the basement.

Deputies said the man was barricaded in a room and when they gave him verbal commands, he did not comply.

"It was well barricaded. It was forfeited," Sgt. Ashley Henson with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office said.

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The Sheriff's Office said there was a confrontation and a deputy shot and killed Bohanan.

Authorities said they are not sure if there was a weapon or if the suspect was armed.

"They killed him. They just cold-blooded murdered my baby," said Bonahan's mother, Renee Taylor.

An emotional family wanted its side of the story told. Family members spoke to Channel 2's Liz Artz.

"I heard them hollering 'Brandon, open the door.' I heard them with a drug dog and I heard them bashing and bashing to get the door open, and then I heard a gunshot," Taylor said.

His family says he does not own a gun, police confirm he did not fire a weapon Thursday. Artz did find a past charge for carrying a concealed weapon.

Henson says Bohanan was being sought on probation violations out of Paulding and Gwinnett counties. Court records show he was arrested on three charges in Gwinnett and has been arrested 16 times in Paulding County during the past 18 years.

The family said Bohanan complied with the deputies' commands but authorities tell a different story.

"He approached the deputies in an aggressive matter, and the basement was a very dark setting from what I understand. He did not comply with their demands," Henson said.

Investigators say they'll release the deputy's name on Friday.

Henson said he's been with Paulding County 3 and a half years and a law enforcement officer for 10 years. He is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation.