A Habersham County deputy has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with a shooting that injured a suspect following a high speed chase into North Carolina.
North Carolina District Attorney Ashley Welch today issued a statement regarding the investigation into the shooting by Deputy Paul Kent. The statement reads, “After a thorough review of all of the evidence in this case we have determined that probable cause does not exist for any criminal charges under North Carolina law against Deputy Kent or any other officer.”
The DA’s announcement comes nearly three months after Deputy Kent fired on and struck 24-year-old Austin Thomason in the head following a police chase into Macon County, NC. The three-county, two-state chase began on Washington Street in Clarkesville after midnight on April 7. That’s when authorities say Thomason and a female, identified as 21-year-old Crystal Singleton, fled from police in a stolen car.
Investigators say the chase reached a top speed of 132 miles-per-hour in Georgia.
The chase ended when Thomason wrecked at the intersection of US Highway 441 and Tryphosa Road in southern Macon County, approximately 1.4 miles north of the State line.
Deputy Kent was approaching the wrecked vehicle when, officials say, Thomason made an attempt to continue to flee and backed up aggressively in an apparent attempt to hit the officer.
Deputy Kent fired on Thomason through the car’s rear window, according to the incident report filed by Sgt. George Cason who was also on the scene. “The vehicle then pulled forward and began to back up again,” the report states. “Deputy Kent fired rounds again through the back glass and I observed the driver slump forward and the vehicle came to rest.”
“…probable cause does not exist for any criminal charges under North Carolina law against Deputy Kent or any other officer.” ~ District Attorney Ashley Welch for North Carolina Thirtieth Prosecutorial District
Welch says the decision not to prosecute was made after completing a review of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s probe into the non-fatal, officer-involved shooting.
“In conducting our review we have considered the entirety of the investigative file including: the events which occurred in Georgia immediately preceding the initiation of the pursuit which ended with the shooting in Macon County; the dash camera video recordings of the chase; the radio traffic and 911 calls; witness interviews including the injured driver and the officers involved; the traffic crash report and the crime scene search,” the statement reads.
Calling the SBI investigation “thorough”, Welch says further investigation is unlikely to produce additional material information.
“It should be noted that the dash cam video of the chase does not capture the shooting. Our review has been limited to a determination of whether probable cause exists to believe any officer committed any criminal offense in North Carolina. Our review does not include review of events which occurred in Georgia nor does it include the propriety of the pursuit, and our office expresses no opinion in that regard.”
To read the DA’s full statement click HERE.
Deputy Kent was placed on administrative leave after the shooting. He’s since returned to work.
Thomason was released from the hospital several days after the shooting. He was booked at the Habersham County jail on numerous charges including fugitive from justice, aggravated assault, theft by receiving stolen property, fleeing or attempting to elude police officer, and various traffic charges.
(Featured photo/WLOS)
This article has been updated to include information from the HCSO incident report
