ST. MARYS, Ga. – High-profile civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Ben Crump were hired to represent the son of a man who was shot and killed by St. Marys police officers.
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Daniels criticized the police for how they handled the incident.
“Let’s be clear. Gregory Paige in that apartment alone posing no threat to anyone,” said Daniels. “These officers could have done anything to resolve the situation. But instead of taking the time to talk, negotiate or simply close the door and wait, they opened fire and killed a young father.”
The attorneys said they are currently investigating all legal options, including potentially filing a lawsuit.
On Aug. 6 around 11:06 p.m., Officers Dexter, O’Brien, and Sergeant Shaw were dispatched to the Cumberland Oaks apartment complex regarding “terroristic threats,” according to the police report.
Before they arrived at the apartment, the officers stopped by the Dollar Tree in St. Marys to speak with the victim, who said the suspect, Gregory 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 officers then drove to the apartment complex and waited for help from Camden County deputies.
Police said they knocked loudly and announced their presence and no one answered.
After several attempts to contact Paige, Camden dispatch called the victim to return with a key so the officers could enter and detain Paige.
The report said the officers entered the apartment and saw Paige standing in the living room doorway and told him to come up with his hands up, but he refused to comply and told officers that he didn’t have a gun.
“He was given more instructions to turn around and put his hands behind his back, but he refused saying, ‘No, y’all fixin’ to kill me.’ He was told that was not the case,” Shaw wrote.
Shaw said 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.
Dexter said the officers were greeted by Paige and he began to give loud verbal commands for him to keep his hands visible.
Dexter said Paige slurred his words and walked 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.
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.