Man killed by Gordon County deputies during attempted traffic stop, GBI says

GORDON COUNTY, Ga. - A 51-year-old Gordon County man was shot and killed by deputies during a traffic stop early Tuesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

The GBI said Gordon County deputies were attempting to pull over a truck driven by 51-year-old Billy Dewayne Couch along Cook Road around 1 a.m. Instead of stopping, the GBI said Couch sped away.

He ended up driving behind a home in the 500 block of Pocket Road NW, where the GBI said deputies blocked him in.

A deputy claimed to have given Couch commands to show his hands as he got out of the truck, but officials said Couch failed to follow those commands. At some point, GBI reported that the deputy shot him.

Couch was rushed to an area hospital, but was pronounced dead.

The Pocket Road home is evidently the same address listed as Couch’s home address from a July 2021 arrest by Whitfield County deputies. Online records indicated he was charged with possession of meth and possession and use of drug-related objects. A similar arrest was made by the Whitfield County deputies, online records indicated, in March 2019.

The GBI was asked to independently investigate the incident and turn the results over to the Gordon County District Attorney’s Office for review.