COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The man Cobb County Police shot and killed Wednesday had a criminal past, per jail and court records.
Several officers fired at Demarco Mauge's vehicle Wednesday during a traffic stop. Police believe he was the prime suspect in a situation near Cumberland Mall over the weekend when someone shot at an officer after law enforcement tried to stop their car.
Mauge was previously booked on a reckless driving charge in DeKalb County. Wednesday's traffic stop on Chastain Road near Interstate 75 turned deadly.
A warrant written Sunday night states Mauge was recklessly driving around the Cumberland Mall parking lot. The warrant adds that when police tried to stop Mauge, he shot at the officer instead and hit his squad car.
Three days later, officers said they finally tracked down the suspect.
Cobb Police said when they stopped Mauge's car, he was holding a gun. Investigators would not clarify if the firearm was pointed at officers. There was allegedly another person in the vehicle, but police did not tell 11Alive if they were arrested.
The confrontation ended in a shooting that killed Mauge. Traffic was stopped on Chastain Road for hours as other officers responded to the scene.
Charles Rambo, a retired Fulton County sheriff's deputy, said Georgia law gives officers the discretion to use deadly force if they feel threatened.
"You don't know that person's level of training, whether that be military, extremist group or what their mental conditioning is," Rambo said. "Nobody wants to see loss of life on both sides. But in this situation, if it all plays out the way it’s stated, then the officers were reasonably justified in using that amount of deadly force to protect themselves.”
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Rambo said the situation might not have turned deadly had both sides used more of what he called emotional intelligence to prevent the scenario from escalating.
“This is where emotional intelligence comes into place on both sides, particularly among the civilian that knows they’re coming in the presence of an officer," Rambo said. “It’s a travesty for both the families of the officer and the family of the accused.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has taken over this case. The agency will turn its findings over to the Cobb County District Attorney's Office to determine if police were justified in shooting Mauge.