Sylvester, Georgia — July 6, 2021 — The family of Antwain Wade rejects the narrative provided in a preliminary report by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, which states that on the morning of July 1, 2021, Antwain Wade engaged in a car chase with a sheriff’s deputy, and after stopping he ignored the deputy’s order to step out of the car and instead drove his car towards the officer.
Evidence suggests that while Mr. Wade was enroute to work a deputy rammed him from the rear, causing the rear bumper to fall off. The deputy then rammed the driver’s side of the car prior to shooting through the front windshield, hitting Mr. Wade in the chest and stomach.
“The manner in which Mr. Wade was attacked by the Worth County Sheriff’s Office is downright shameful and we all should be perturbed,” says Attorney LaRhonda R. Nicks, one of the attorneys representing Wade. There are several preliminary, unanswered questions that the police have not addressed, including: Why was evidence of the damage to Mr. Wade’s car omitted from the initial GBI report? Where is the deputy’s body camera footage? How did the deputy get in front of Mr. Wade prior to shooting into the car? How did Mr. Wade’s car receive side and rear damage?
Law enforcement often creates the narrative “I feared for my life” whenever excessive force is used. In this case, we are told that Mr. Wade drove his car towards the deputy, prompting the officer to believe that his life was in danger. This is a narrative Mr. Wade’s family rejects.
“The facts do not add up. This is another traffic stop gone horribly wrong and another Black man is fighting for his life as a result of it,” says Attorney B’Ivory LaMarr, who also represents Antwain Wade. LaMarr continues, “The narrative in this country needs to change. Antwain’s case is only one of many where a traffic stop has turned into a life or death scenario for a person of color.”
The Wade family urges the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to thoroughly investigate this shooting just as they did with the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery was another black man shot in Georgia by law enforcement.
The family is currently asking the community to join them in prayer for a supernatural healing. Although family members have been denied the right to visit Antwain, they have been advised that he is in serious condition and fighting for his life.
