A Lithia Springs woman was hospitalized after suffering multiple stab wounds in a domestic dispute that ended in a police shooting in Douglas County on April 23.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents are now conducting an independent investigation into the incident at the request of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
According to preliminary reports, deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call from a residence on Brook Street in Lithia Springs around 9:58 p.m.
Upon arrival, they found the woman covered in blood and trying to escape from Robernard Benjamin, a 39-year-old Lithia Springs man wielding a knife inside the home.
Deputies attempted to defuse the situation by issuing verbal commands for Benjamin to drop the weapon, but deputies say he failed to comply. Instead, deputies say Benjamin charged at the woman and the deputies while still holding the knife.
In response, one of the deputies opened fire, resulting in Benjamin’s death at the scene.
The injured woman received immediate aid from the deputies before being transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The GBI Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy on Benjamin as part of the investigation.
Once the GBI’s independent investigation is complete, the case file will be handed over to the Douglas Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for further review. This marks the 33rd officer-involved shooting that the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2023.
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