ATHENS, Ga. — A man shot and killed by police officers in Athens has been identified as 34-year-old Thomas Wayne Swinford. Now, officials say the weapon he allegedly pointed at them before they opened fire was actually a replica.
The Athens-Clarke County Police Department has identified the officers as Officer C.J. Bidlinger, Officer First Class William Greenlow, Officer Claude Johnson, Corporal Alex Leder, Sergeant Jon McIlvaine, Officer Joshua Santos and Officer Roger Williams.
Police said Swinford allegedly charged an officer with what they believed at the time was a gun on Friday, March 8, although they initially wouldn't confirm that an actual gun was found at the scene.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has since confirmed that the gun brandished by Swinford was actually an airsoft replica-style handgun.
The incident happened just before 6:30 p.m. on West Lake Drive. One woman who lives near the scene said she watched it all unfold.
"He looked very distraught because I could see the frustration, you know, the way he was handling the gun," she said.
She watched the events right from her bedroom window which faces the church parking lot where the officer-involved shooting happened.
"He was holding the gun kind-of sideway to his head and then he just pointed it at his head," she said.
Moments later, officers had to evacuate her family as they took a protective stance in her yard.
Athens-Clarke County Police said officers issued commands for the man to drop the gun, but he charged at them with the gun in his hand.
"Multiple officers, fearing for their lives and safety, discharged their firearms," the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said in a statement late Friday. "After the shooting, officers immediately rendered first aid and the individual was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries."
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is handing the investigation and the officers have been placed on administrative leave, per department policy.