ALEA, sheriff: Man fatally shot by Morgan deputies was pointing a BB gun at them
A handgun that the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office initially said was fired at deputies before the deputies fatally shot a man Monday was a replica, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and the Sheriff’s Office revised its initial statement, saying the gun was pointed at officers, not fired at them, and was a BB gun.
The Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday identified the man who was killed as Drew Patterson Banks, 41, of Decatur.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, ALEA said it had launched an investigation into the shooting at the request of the Sheriff’s Office.
“The incident occurred when officers with the Priceville Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle that was reported stolen,” ALEA’s statement reads. “The driver refused to stop and a pursuit ensued where multiple agencies responded to assist, including deputies with Morgan County Sheriff’s Office.”
The pursuit ended on Thompson Road at Byrd Road, according to ALEA and the Sheriff’s Office.
Banks “exited the vehicle with what appeared to be a handgun,” ALEA said. “Upon further investigation, it was determined that the firearm was a full-sized replica of a Sig Sauer 1911 semiautomatic handgun.”
Sig Sauer advertises the sale of Sig Sauer 1911 replica BB guns.
The Sheriff’s Office’s statements on the shooting have been on its Facebook page.
The initial statement said “the subject shot at deputies, who returned fire.” That was later edited to say the subject shot at “Deputies and Officers, who returned fire.”
At 9:03 p.m. Monday, the Sheriff’s Office edited the Facebook post to remove any reference to Banks shooting at deputies or officers, instead saying “the subject pointed a firearm at Deputies and Officers, who returned fire.”
At 1:56 p.m. Tuesday — after the ALEA statement was issued — the post was again edited, this time to say, “the subject pointed a firearm, later determined to be a BB gun, at Deputies and Officers, who returned fire.”
At 1:59 p.m. the Sheriff’s Office post was edited again, removing the reference to a BB gun, instead saying, “the subject pointed a firearm, later determined by ALEA Investigators to be a replica handgun, at Deputies and Officers, who returned fire.”
No officers were injured during the incident.
Morgan County Sheriff Ron Puckett did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
