A woman called 911 for an ambulance, only to have police shoot her fiance instead. Alcia Herron of Waycross, Georgia, had become worried about some diabetes medication her fiance had allegedly taken too much of and called emergency services, but the response was not what she was expecting at all.
Police said that the woman’s fiance Jack Lamar Roberson was brandishing two weapons and coming at them aggressively. His family said he hadn’t been armed at all and had his hands up in surrender.
On October 4, Alcia Herron had called 911 because she feared her fiance was suicidal when he took his diabetes medication. She thought he had taken too much and was intentionally trying to kill himself, and had become combative. Instead of an ambulance, however, two police cruisers arrived on the scene.
Alcia Herron, the woman who had called 911, recalled the incident as she cried:
“He didn’t have nothing in his hands at any time or period at all before they came, any time while they were here, anything. They just came in and shot him. He didn’t say nothing, the police didn’t say nothing, anything, it was like a silent movie. You couldn’t hear anything, all you could hear were the gun shots go off and I seen them going into his body and he just fell down.”
Where is the 911 tape? “ @MoreAndAgain : *SMFH* | Man shot dead after woman calls 911 to ask for ambulance for help http://t.co/nBBmpGQABr ”
— N. (@HoneyBadger10) October 8, 2013
Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner had a very different take on the situation, saying that Jack Lamar Roberson had been holding two weapons and as he approached the officers they asked him to drop them. He reported that Roberson refused and raised one of the weapons in a threatening manner.
Jack Lamar Roberson’s mother also protested the story given by the police, saying that the household didn’t even own “ two decent knives .”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigations is currently looking into the matter, and the officers involved are on paid leave. The police and the woman who called 911 had completely different stories, and someone is obviously lying.
