ST. MARYS, Ga. – New details have emerged following an officer-involved shooting that left a Jacksonville man dead in St. Marys on Sunday evening.
News4JAX obtained a copy of the police report that includes summaries from two of the three St. Marys Police Department officers involved in the shooting that killed 27-year-old Gregory Paige inside an apartment at the Cumberland Oaks apartment complex.
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Around 11:06 p.m., Officers Dexter and O’Brien, and Sergeant Shaw, were dispatched to the apartment complex regarding “terroristic threats.”
According to the report, before they arrived at the apartment, the officers stopped by the Dollar Tree in St. Marys to speak with the female victim, who said Paige was her boyfriend.
“[The victim] informed Officer O’Brien and me that her ‘baby daddy’ threatened to kill her and police officers if she were to call the police. She also mentioned that the male would have a shootout with the police,” Dexter wrote.
The report says the woman told police Paige had been drinking.
According to Dexter, the woman also told police that Paige grabbed her arm aggressively and, when she was able to free herself, she ran to her vehicle and drove off.
In his incident report, Dexter wrote that the woman told police that she did not know if Paige had a firearm. However, Shaw wrote in his report that she told police that “he possibly had a gun on his person.”
After speaking with the woman, the officers drove to the entrance of the apartment complex, where they waited for Camden County deputies who were called to assist “due to the seriousness of the threats and limited manpower.”
With law enforcement officers at the base of the building in the apartment complex, Dexter, O’Brien and Shaw made their way up the stairs to the apartment.
According to Dexter, he and O’Brien were at the door, while Shaw was on the stairwell as cover.
“I knocked on the door loudly and announced loudly that the St. Marys Police were there. I knocked the same way again, and no one answered,” Dexter wrote.
Dexter said he checked the door to see if it was unlocked, but noticed it was deadbolted.
O’Brien then retrieved a ballistic shield from Shaw’s marked patrol vehicle, according to Dexter.
After several “unsuccessful attempts” to make contact with Paige, Shaw said he requested Camden dispatch to call the victim to return with a key to the apartment so officers could enter and detain Paige.
The shooting
Shaw said that when the door opened, Paige was standing in the living room doorway, which he described as “poorly” lit, and was instructed to come up with his hands up and turn around. However, Shaw said Paige refused to comply and also told officers that he did not have a gun.
“He was given several more instructions to turn around and put his hands behind his back, but he refused, saying, ‘No, ya’ll fixin’ to kill me.’ He was told that was not the case,” Shaw wrote.
Shaw said that at that point, O’Brien and Dexter tried to detain Paige.
“He lunged back away from us, drew his right hand from behind his back, and pointed it at us,” Shaw wrote.
That’s when O’Brien and Dexter fired at Paige, according to Shaw.
Dexter’s incident report mentions some slightly different details.
Dexter said he was covering O’Brien with the ballistic shield as he began to push the door open, which opened from the inside.
According to Dexter, the officers were greeted by Paige, and he began to give loud verbal commands for him to keep his hands visible.
Dexter said Paige began to slur his words and walk backwards inside the apartment.
“He then began to shut the door and reach behind his back with his right hand. I then saw his arm extend towards Officer O’Brien and me,” Dexter wrote.
Dexter said he then “heard a gunshot and saw a muzzle flash,” and he returned fire toward Paige.
According to Dexter, he shot his firearm approximately six to eight times toward Paige.
O’Brien handcuffed him, Dexter said.
Paige was given aid and taken to the hospital, where he died.
The police report obtained by News4JAX does not mention if a weapon was recovered from the scene, and questions we asked the St. Marys Police about whether or not Paige was armed have not been answered.
The report also does not include an incident summary from O’Brien.
Residents told NewsJAX on Tuesday they’re stunned by the incident — and they want answers.
News4JAX also reached out to the St. Mary’s Police Department to ask if there is body camera footage of the incident. We were told the agency cannot release the footage because the investigation is still open.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is investigating the officer-involved shooting. Once the GBI’s investigation is complete, the findings will be turned over to the Brunswick District Attorney’s Office for review.