“He would always pull his car back around there and sit and talk. Now I won’t have him anymore”: Family wants answers after deadly Ashburn shooting

ASHBURN, Ga. (WALB) - What started as a routine traffic stop, turned into a deadly shooting. Ashburn police say officers were forced to shoot Daniel Scott when he got behind the wheel of a police vehicle while in custody.

A witness’ cell phone video shows the moments police opened fire into one of their own SUVs after Scott appeared to crash into another vehicle. Police told WALB Scott was handcuffed in the back seat but somehow managed to break through a plexiglass barrier and get into the driver seat.

During an interview with Chief Purvis, WALB asked if there was any way officers could have de-escalated the situation.

“They did give verbal commands and walked up to the vehicle, they pleaded ‘please stop, don’t do that.’ So, I believe that a part of de-escalation. And you know, when de-escalate isn’t working, you have to go to a different option,” Purvis said.

Police say Scott tried to escape police twice. The first time they say he drove his car into an officer’s vehicle, injuring an officer. Video after that first incident shows officers tasing Scott on the ground. You can hear witnesses accusing officers of beating Scott.

Michael Scott, Daniels Scott’s father, told WALB he is focused on what he knows about his son. He described him to be a young man that has dreams and goals that he couldn’t fulfill because his life was taken away.

“If he was handcuffed in the police car, and whatever took place it should have never caused for a gunshot to be involved. It should have been other alternatives taken. There was a lot that was portrayed, but overall, my son was a good son he was a good child,” Michael Scott said.

Witnesses told WALB there’s deep-seated mistrust of police in the community. Purvis says they work extremely hard to gain the trust of the community. He says that’s the department’s priority.

“There is always going to be mistrust when you start talking about police because there are some things that happened that some people don’t understand. We’ve grown so far with the community, with the trust and helping and we want to continue that,” Purvis said.

The case is being further investigated by GBI.

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