Jonathan Ayers, Georgia Baptist Church Pastor, Shot By Police

These were undercover drug officers in plain clothes. I don't know if you've ever seen drug detectives, but a lot of them look like scumbags - it's part of their cover. They roll up on the pastor in an Escalade and run out of it with guns drawn. What would you do? He probably thought he was being robbed or carjacked. Before he died, he asked who had shot him, so he never knew they were cops. At best, this is an accident resulting from poorly trained officers who have no business carrying a badge.

He fled because he thought he was being robbed.  Those cops jumped out of an unmarked SUV, were wearing plain clothes and chasing him with guns drawn.  He had just withdrawn money from the ATM.  If that happened to me, I'd high tail it out of there too.  I know Jonathan Ayers and he would give the shirt off his back for anyone.  That's why he was such a good and caring Pastor.  Those cops never identified themselves, if they felt the need to shoot, they should've shot the tires out instead of killing an innocent man with a sweet wife with their unborn child. 

I was at Jonathan's funeral today. What a tremendous out-pouring of love and support from the community. What a testimony to a tremendous Man of God. The congregation was asked for anyone to stand up if they had given their life to the Lord Jesus Christ under Bro Jonathan's ministry. You should have seen the people who stood up! Old, young, black, white, all walks of life! Bro Jonathan truly loved people and had a passion to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! Our prayers go out to his family and Church family. God knows the truth and He is in control. God bless! Let's hope Nancy Grace gets a hold of this!

Grace your an idiot, you think the war on drugs justified this. My stars women pull your head out of your ass!

The way you structured the question in your comment...Grace. Read it out loud. Listen to yourself say it out loud. This is what they teach people w/learning disabilities. Write a paragraph, then read it out loud. They always say "wow, it sounds different in my mind". Read it out loud, Grace. C'mon. Read it out loud. Zoltan San Diego

My husband and I knew Jonathan personally, and I would bet my life he would never be involved in anything like what people are insinuating. Jonathan was loved by a lot of people.....we were at the funeral home Thursday night and the line was all the way through the parking lot to the road, and people waited over 3+ hours to show there respect to him and his family. All I ask is if you do not know him please do not talk as if you knew what was going on. He was a GREAT person, and will be truely missed by a lot of people.

Being a pastor doesn't give you

A guy is seen in the company of a drug/prostitution suspect. Agents attempt to question this guy and he flees and HITS AN AGENT WITH HIS WEAPON (aka car). The agents did identify themselves as bystanders confirmed. Guns were NOT initially drawn but were exposed or uncovered. Being a pastor does NOT give this guy the right to resist questioning and attack IDENTIFIED agents with his car. It would, however, give him more reason to run and attempt to protect his reputation. Could that not be the desperate actions of a man wanting to protect his reputation. Hmmm, does that not make sense??? Witnesses have confirmed the agents DID identify themselves so enough with slanderous attempt to cloud the situation.  It is very hard for families and friends to accept when "good" people do bad things. If that had been you or your kid hit by the guy fleeing from identified agents would that still be okay? Why would you put less value on the lives of the agents that are risking their life to protect yours????

So the cops were sudden if you watch the video and maybe he did think that they were thieves and got scared but....why would someone rob you in plain view of all the other customers who were there and in broad daylight? This doesn't make any sense, even the dumbest robber wouldn't do that. It seems like this pastor was probably trying to do a good deed and give that lady a ride not knowing her background. I can't say what I would have done, I don't think any of us could because its a panicked situation. I can tell you this if you give me the choice between giving someone my withdrawn ATM money and my life. I will choose my life every time. There was no reason for him to flee other than sudden reaction or fear. This is sad. This is the world we live in.

How was the officer's life in jeapardy in the first place?  He had his wheel cut away from where he was.  Besides that - he (the officer) was following him - not the Pastor going after him. When you put yourself in front of a driver - you assume the risk - especially if you're a unsubstantiated cop with a stupid gun in someone's face. Adrenilin kicks in and you don't know what you're going to do when a couple of guys who say that they're police officer but aren't acting like police officers have guns pointed at you for some unknown reason.  What is he supposed to do?This is murder, plain and simple. There was no violence initiated, at any time, by this Pastor - he only was trying to flee from something that made no sense to him. This is why officers should always be uniformed when making arrests. 

To all of those that knew him let me express my regret and sorrow for your loss. From what I have read about Johnathan he was a God loving amazing man. With that said. The young man was being a Christian and helping this woman (who has since vanished off the face of the earth or is being coached by the police to colaborate their story) like christians do. Dropped her off probably feeling good about doing a good deed. Stops by an ATM in what looks like a shady corner store to get money for tires for his wifes car (Side Note: You can swipe your card at 99% of all business establishments so he may have not even had to stop there) Then exits the store, is almost to his car when a THUGGY SUV slides in the parking lot in a THUGGY manner, Then 2 THUGGY looking brothers jump out waving guns, screaming, beating on his car. He did what anybody else in the world would do. He paniced and tried to remove himself from the situation. They started shooting at him sturck him and he sped off. When he was being attended to by the paramedics He ask "Who shot me" That statement lets you know that he didn't realize they were cops. I believe that he lived to speak to his wife and assured her that there was nothing shady going on but he had to go into surgery thinking that she maybe wasn't convinced. Then he died. To add insult to injury the police told the family at first he was killed in an nuto accident, then they were told he was shot by a drug dealer in a drug deal gone bad, then the third time the story was told he was implicated with being with a known hooker and drug dealer. I'd bring a Wrongful Death Suit against that town that would make Bernard Madoff's head swim. The police that shot him should be tried for murder. This young man was murdered plain and simple.

Based on the facts if I were on the jury the two officers would be found guilty of manslaughter 1st degree. The facts are clear Ive put myself in both situations the man was fleeing for his life because he thought he was being robbed and the officers seen an opportunity to put a bullet in someone. If they were only man enough to say we made a bad mistake. This is the reason cops have the reputation they do but please dont catagorize all cops based on this one incident, my best freind of twenty years is a captain for the local sheriffs office and would never have shot a man that was just in fear for his life, he would have made it clear he was a real police officer and needed to talk about the young lady that he had picked up earlier.. May justice be served!!!