Cops shoot, use Taser on man after chase, GBI says

Authorities in northwest Georgia shot and used a Taser on a man who had led them on a chase, a GBI spokeswoman said Sunday.

Shortly after midnight, a Gordon County Sheriff’s Office deputy began a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Santiago Alberto Franco Marquez, 35, of Calhoun, GBI spokeswoman Natalie Ammons said in a statement.

A 15-minute chase followed that involved the sheriff ’s office, the Georgia State Patrol and the Calhoun Police Department.

“A Georgia State Patrol trooper attempted a ‘box maneuver’ when Marquez struck the trooper’s vehicle and also made impact with the Gordon County Sheriff ’s Office patrol vehicle” at the intersection of Harris Beamer Road and LaVista Drive in Gordon County, Ammons said.

The trooper left his vehicle, which Marquez continued to hit.

“The trooper fired one shot into the driver’s side window of Marquez’s vehicle,” Ammons said. “Marquez fled through the passenger’s side on foot and was apprehended about 100 yards away after being tased by a Gordon County sheriff ’s deputy.”

Marquez sustained a minor hand injury from the gunshot, Ammons said, and was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released to the custody of Gordon County deputies, according to Ammons. He’s charged with aggravated assault on an officer, attempting to elude and other traffic violations, according to the GBI.

No officers were injured, Ammons said.

The GBI is investigating, which is standard protocol in officer-involved shootings. There have been 64 this year, compared with 88 in 2017.