Man killed by deputies after traffic stop, police chase in Bartow County, GBI says

An attempt to stop a vehicle in Bartow County ended with deputies shooting and killing the driver and arresting his passenger, officials say.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will do its own inquiry into the shooting that killed 45-year-old Justin Eric Hardin.

According to authorities, the incident began on Tuesday afternoon when deputies and members of the Bartow Cartersville Drug Task Force pulled over a vehicle as part of a drug investigation.

Officials say the driver, identified as Hardin, drove off from the initial stop, leading to a chase. The pursuit ended under the overpass at the intersection of Interstate 75 and Highway 20 when deputies performed a PIT maneuver, stopping Hardin's vehicle.

The GBI says Hardin's passenger, identified as 44-year-old Acworth resident Angela Green, left the vehicle and was taken into custody, but Hardin remained inside, not complying with the deputies' commands.

Deputies used OC spray to get Hardin to exit and eventually broke the driver's side door. At that point, the GBI says Hardin pointed a firearm at the officers and shot at them. The deputies returned fire, hitting and killing Hardin.

Authorities say they found a "large amount of suspected methamphetamine" in the vehicle. Green was arrested in connection with the investigation and taken to the Bartow County Detention Center.

The GBI's Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy on Hardin.

When the GBI's investigation is complete, the agency will give the case file to the Bartow County District Attorney's Office for review.

This was the 20th shooting involving a member of Georgia law enforcement in 2026. More than half of the shootings have been fatal.