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Posted on 04/26/2025 7:03:19 PM PDT by CFW
COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. — A Columbia County sheriff’s deputy is dead and another hospitalized after a traffic stop turned into a shootout.
According to ABC affiliate WJBF, the deputies were performing the traffic stop near Exit 194 on Interstate 20 around 6:30 p.m.
WJBF reported that the driver, James Blake Montgomery, opened fire, hitting both deputies, then drove off in a camper or RV.
Members of law enforcement told WJBF that the vehicle is currently surrounded and investigators are searching the nearby area for Montgomery.
Columbia County investigators told WJBF that the officers had been trying to serve Montgomery with a temporary protective order, more commonly known as a restraining order.
WJBF reports that it is not currently known if Montgomery is alive or dead inside the camper that is surrounded.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsbtv.com ...
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Domestic situations and restraining orders are one of the most dangerous interactions police officers face.
Line of Duty Death ping.
FReepmail me to be added to the Line of Duty Death ping list.
WJBF reports that the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol and Richmond County Sheriff’s Office are all on the scene.
The identities of the officers who were shot have not been revealed.
Investigators told WJBF that the public is no longer in danger.
Online, Gov. Brian Kemp shared his condolences for the fallen officer and his colleagues, saying:
Marty, the girls, and I are praying for the loved ones and colleagues of the Columbia County sheriffs deputy that has fallen in the line of duty, as well as his fellow law enforcement officer injured tonight while protecting his fellow Georgians.
As they remain in our hearts and…
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) April 27, 2025
Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson also shared his condolences, saying in a statement:
“Heartbroken and praying for the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and our neighbors in Columbia County. Our prayers are with the families of the fallen, the entire Sheriff’s Office, and all who are grieving this unimaginable loss. We honor their sacrifice and pray for the difficult days ahead.”
Prayers up.
CC
Columbia county is just north of Augusta along the South Carolina line. Largely rural except for the suburban areas near the city. This apparently happened in the built up area near Augusta.
Ping.
CC
I wish you wouldn’t post a photo of a police badge with a piece of blue tape on it. Call me old fashioned, but that is debasement of government property. I wore the uniform, as you probably did too, and you know that you are strictly prohibiting from adding or defacing anything on your uniform.
That’s the least of it, in that what you’re doing is you’re separating the blue line gang from the rest of the population who are not members of the Blue Line gang and there’s plenty of separation already, we don’t need more. Respect the badge, not the line which divides us.
The image is taken from the Officer Down Memorial Page (odmp.org)
Mourning shrouds are SOP in the Keystone State from day of death through day of burial as well as other Memorial occasions such as during Police Week.
Not sure. I haven’t been to Disgusta in decades. The perp did appear to be a Cracker instead of a person of color.
Yep. Looks like it. There is a lot of that type in that area.
Thanks for the ping!!
May a nice warm electric chair be available for him to occupy soon.
👍👍
CC
We had two officers killed while dealing with a man going through a nasty domestic problem two years ago.
Those problems can really mess with people.
I’ve seen police with black ribbons after one of them has fallen in the line of duty in two different states.
Are you sure of your assertion that honoring a fallen comrade is “debasement of government property.”?
It's SOP across the nation and even in Canada. Management would pass them out at muster when we had a fallen officer. They were all the same so they were uniform.
“We had two officers killed while dealing with a man going through a nasty domestic problem two years ago.”
“Those problems can really mess with people.”
Yes, when a law enforcement officer is shot and killed, it messes with his family, their agency, the community and countless others.
I know very well what happens.
With 33 years as a LEO I lost a few friends in the line of duty,
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