NEWNAN, Ga. — The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office has released body camera footage of the moments before they say a suspect opened fired on a deputy Sunday morning. The deputy then fired back, hitting and critically injuring the suspect.
The video, which is 13 seconds long, shows the deputy drive toward the suspect, Mario Clarke, with his taser out the window of his squad car.
The deputy can be heard in the video telling Clarke to get on the ground before he fired his Taser. Clarke then falls to the ground as he is hit by the Taser. That is where the video stops.
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Investigators said after the deputy’s Taser was ineffective, Clarke then fired a shot at the deputy, hitting his patrol car. The deputy returned fire and hit Clarke.
Clarke is currently at Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. No officers were hurt.
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The sheriff’s office said the manhunt started as a stolen car report at a Racetrac gas station on Amlajack Boulevard. Clarke is accused of leading officers on a chase that ended near the interstate.
Marked patrol cars and a K9 officer located Clarke two hours later near soccer fields at Whitlock Recreation Complex on Industrial Park. Clarke took off and that is where the dash camera footage released Monday starts.
Clarke is the same man accused of shooting at his father last month. Surveillance video shows the father and son both with weapons in front of their home.
Officials said Clarke’s dad called 911 saying that he was shooting at him. Police charged Clarke with aggravated assault.
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