Bibb sheriff’s deputy cleared in October shooting death of shoplifting suspect

A Bibb County sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a shoplifting suspect who had pepper-sprayed the deputy’s face in a confrontation last fall was justified in using deadly force, officials say.

District Attorney David Cooke on Thursday announced the findings of a GBI investigation into the fatal shooting of Larry Daniel Matthews.

Matthews, 57, was killed Oct. 7 during a struggle with deputy Greg Ussery outside a house in the 500 block of Colquitt Street, a side street that runs east of Houston Avenue, two blocks below Eisenhower Parkway.

Soon after the shooting, indications were that Ussery’s use of lethal force was justified. In accounts of the fatal incident, officials said Ussery, 36, had answered a call that afternoon about the theft of some cigarette lighters at a nearby Family Dollar.

The store overlooks Eisenhower at the corner of Houston Avenue, two-tenths of a mile north and about a four-minute walk from where Matthews was shot.

Roughly half an hour after the call at Family Dollar, Ussery reportedly spotted the 5-foot-6, 170-pound Matthews — who matched the description of the shoplifting culprit — along Colquitt Street. There was some altercation between the two, authorities said at the time, and Ussery used his Taser during a struggle with Matthews.

But the Taser didn’t subdue Matthews, who had been drinking and smoking crack cocaine earlier in the day, investigators said.

“During the struggle, the suspect grabbed the deputy’s pepper spray and sprayed the deputy in the face,” sheriff’s officials noted in a statement about the episode soon after it happened. “With the deputy being sprayed and the struggle continuing, the deputy drew his firearm and fired at the suspect, striking him.”

During a news conference Thursday, the district attorney provided further details of the incident, noting that Ussery used deadly force “only after every other means of subduing Matthews proved fruitless.”

Cooke said that after Ussery was sprayed with pepper spray, the deputy’s vision blurred.

“Having no other choice, he drew his service weapon, firing twice into Matthews’ chest,” Cooke said. “Matthews fell ... and the struggle ended.”

Some of the five eyewitnesses who watched the fatal clash told investigators that had Ussery not shot Matthews that Matthews would likely have taken the deputy’s gun and “continued his assault,” Cooke said.

By chance, a woman near the scene that day recorded video footage of the shooting and streamed it live on Facebook.

“The real-time narration by the witness at the time of the event is consistent with the other accounts given by the eyewitnesses,” Cooke said.

Authorities have said Matthews had a 36-page criminal history that dated back to 1980.

Past charges against Matthews include multiple arrests for obstruction of police officers and gun crimes. He was on parole for burglary when he was killed.

As is routine in such law enforcement matters, Ussery was on paid administrative leave while the shooting was investigated.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Bibb sheriff’s deputy cleared in October shooting death of shoplifting suspect."