Holly MatkinMarietta, GA – A suspect allegedly hit a Marietta police officer with a car and pinned him between two vehicles before dragging him through a motel parking lot on July 7.
The incident occurred at the Motel 6 on Delk Road at approximately 6 p.m. on July 7, WSB reported.
Marietta Police Department (MPD) Spokesperson Chuck McPhilamy said police responded to the scene to conduct “a suspicious person stop” on 26-year-old Rafael Esteban Ramirez.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said officers had been at the motel for less than a minute when Ramirez threw his vehicle into reverse and accelerated, slamming into a nearby patrol car and pinning an MPD officer between the two vehicles, according to the Associated Press.
The suspect then allegedly dragged the injured officer across the motel parking lot with his vehicle, police said.
Multiple officers opened fire on Ramirez, who was ultimately shot in the head, the Associated Press reported.
He was transported to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“That happened right there in front of us, right there in our hotel room,” witness Quintonious Harrison told WSB. “Two minutes after we check in all we hear is gunshots. We took cover for like 30 seconds and came outside.”
Witness Latoya Moultrie said Ramirez was just trying to leave the area when he was shot, WSB reported.
“He never fired no weapon, no nothing of sort,” Moultrie said. “He said, ‘I don’t want to talk.’ That’s all he yelled and he kept trying to pursue to leave out of the premises.”
“They backed up, drew their weapon and fired five shots,” she told WSB.
The officer who was injured during the incident was transported to a hospital for treatment and has since been released, the Associated Press reported.
The GBI said it will forward its investigative findings to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether or not any criminal charges will be filed.
