And now the smear campaign begins.....(i updated the OP)\
The man shot and killed by Smyrna police Tuesdayafter they said he tried to run down officers who went to his Vinings workplace to arrest him had a history of running from police.
And, in at least one prior case, he drove a car toward an officer.
While police Wednesday had not released the man’s name, his parents came to the scene of the fatal shooting Tuesday afternoon, identified the dead man as Nicholas Taft Thomas and called for the FBI to look into the incident.
RAW INTERVIEW: Mother of man shot, killed by police speaks
Felecia Thomas told Channel 2 Action News that her son loved cars and his family.
“My son was a lovable guy,” she said. “He would do anything for anybody. He just had a baby.”
Court and jail documents show that Thomas has numerous arrests in several metro Atlanta jurisdictions, and that he pleaded guilty last year in Cobb County Superior Court to a March 2013 charge of aggravated assault on a peace officer.
Police were attempting to serve a warrant on a man, who instead got into a Maserati and drove toward officers, according to police. (Channel 2 Action News)
In that case, the grand jury alleged that Thomas assaulted a Kennesaw State University Police officer by “driving and accelerating his motor vehicle at” the officer after Officer S.A. Feinauer attempted a traffic stop on Thomas for speeding.
Thomas also pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to elude police, driving with a suspended license, having no proof of insurance and not having an improper license plate in connection with that incident, and was sentenced to seven years, with 56 days in jail and the rest on probation.
In September 2013, Thomas was arrested by Forest Park police, and charged with burglary and obstructing an officer.
Police from two agencies were investigating Tuesday afternoon after a fatal officer-involved shooting at a tire store near Cumberland Mall. (Photo: Channel 2 Action News)
Two years earlier, he was arrested by Atlanta police on 16 traffic charges that included leaving the scene of an accident, fleeing and attempting to elude police, reckless driving and aggressive driving.
Thomas was also booked into the Fulton County Jail in May 2012 on an unspecified charge by Lawrenceville police, in June 2012 on a charge by Atlanta police of theft by receiving stolen property, and in September 2013 for failing to appear in court on identity theft charges.
He was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail in July 2011 on charges of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and operating a vehicle without a tag or decal and in May 2012 for violating probation.
Family members said Nicholas Thomas was shot and killed by police Tuesday afternoon. (Family photo)
Thomas was working at the Goodyear store on Cumberland Parkway when six officers with the Smyrna and Cobb police departments arrived about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to serve a felony arrest warrant. But when Thomas saw police, he left the store and got into a white, four-door Maserati.
It was not known Wednesday who owned the high-end luxury car. Police said the man drove the vehicle toward officers, prompting police to fire multiple shots at the vehicle. Thomas died at the scene.
None of the three Cobb police officers on the scene at the time of the incident discharged their firearms, Cobb police Sgt. Dana Pierce said. Investigators told Channel 2 they are still trying to figure out how many of the remaining officers actually opened fire.
Nicholas Taft Thomas (Credit: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
“When you go to serve a suspect who knows that he is wanted he is unpredictable and we have to react based on his actions,” Sgt. Ed Cason with the Smyrna Police Department said Tuesday. “That’s what we did today.”
Smyrna police have not asked the GBI to investigate the shooting, GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
— Staff writer Alexis Stevens contributed to this report.
Nicholas Taft Thomas (Credit: Cobb County Sheriff’s Office)
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