A Georgia state trooper wounded a man who raised a gun at officers after stealing and crashing a police car, authorities said Friday.
Jacob Anthony Palmer, 29, was in stable condition Friday at a Savannah hospital, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release. He was charged with assaulting a police officer, theft, felony eluding and other crimes.
The chase happened Thursday after a Chatham County police officer was dispatched to a hotel near Interstate 95 to investigate a suspicious vehicle, authorities said. The officer found Palmer at the scene, police said, at learned that he was wanted on warrants in Virginia.
Palmer drew a gun on the officer and fled in his patrol car, authorities said. Georgia State Patrol troopers chased the police vehicle, which at times crossed into oncoming traffic and hit at least one bystander’s vehicle, according to the GBI.
The stolen patrol car crashed and caught fire at a busy intersection about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from where the chase began. The GBI said its preliminary investigation shows Palmer ignored troopers’ commands to get out of the car and instead raised a gun, prompting one trooper to shoot him. He was given first aid until paramedics arrived.
GSP
