Georgia Pastor Jonathan Ayers, 28, Shot and Killed by Police During Prostitution-Drug Sting

Jonathan Ayers, 29, the pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia, Ga., was shot and killed by multi-county drug taskforce, though he was not the target of the sting operation. Authorities were looking for a woman they say Ayers dropped off minutes before the shooting. That woman, whose name has not been released, had been charged with cocaine possession and distribution, the police spokesman said. The family of Mr. Ayers have maintained that he was not involved in any illegal drug activity. There are many unanswered questions in this unfortunate situation. Why would the pastor be giving a ride to an alleged drug dealer? Though this seems to be another case of excessive police force, we need to reserve judgment until all the facts are disclosed.

Ayers dropped off the sting suspect in downtown Toccoa around 2:30 p.m. and that two agents from the joint task force -- composed of officers from Stephens, Habersham and Rabun counties -- followed the pastor and attempted to question him.

WNEG-TV has surveillance video showing Ayers casually entering a Shell convenience store in Toccoa around 2:30 p.m. According to that video, a black SUV carrying undercover officers pulls into the parking lot after Ayers left the store. The pastor tried to avoid them, Shirley said Wednesday, striking one of the agents after putting his car in reverse. “They yelled, ‘Police. Stop,’” Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley said.

Witnesses to the incident also said the officers identified themselves, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead. Shirley said Wednesday that Ayers maneuvered his car towards another agent in a “threatening manner.” However, that is unclear from the video.

Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley first said that one shot was fired by one of the three agents on the scene, striking the pastor in the upper torso. WNEG-TV reports that Shirley said the agent fired two shots into the car. Ayers drove off before losing control of the vehicle a block away, striking a telephone pole, Shirley said. Source: AJC

Okay, so herein lies another problem, if this man wasn't the target of the sting, why was excessive and deadly force used to get his attention? This may be another case in which the cops were too trigger-happy. All I can say is thank God there is a video of the entire series of events and the truth will be revealed eventually. Pastor Ayers and his wife Abby are expecting their first child.

Video shows confrontation with police