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On Sunday, May 1, 2022, suspect Joshua Aaron Sayre was taken into custody at approximately 11 p.m. after a two-hour standoff between himself and surrounding law enforcement agencies.

According to 1st Class Sergeant Will West, Post 14 Georgia State Patrol Troopers were enforcing the speed limit on Bethel Road, after they had received several calls the past few weeks. During the enforcement, a Post 14 Trooper attempted to pull over Sayre for a minor traffic violation.

Instead of stopping, Sayre then ran a stop sign and began to flee the scene.

The trooper then was able to perform a PIT maneuver (Pursuit Intervention Technique) on Sayre’s vehicle, causing it to overturn.

Upon overturning, Sayre and a female then exited the vehicle, fleeing into a field, while Troopers commanded them to stop.

Sayre fled brandishing a handgun, shooting off a few rounds as he exited.

Troopers then took cover, calling for backup.

With the help of fellow troopers, Sheriff Wiley Griffin, Decatur County deputies and Bainbridge Public Safety, the officers were able to take the female suspect into custody.

However, the male custody continued to flee, resulting in a standoff.

During the standoff, Sayre caused a self-inflicted wound and asked for his mother.

Officers were able to calm him down and West, along with another Post 14 Trooper took him into custody, before transporting him to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital for medical treatment.

West said since the incident, they have been unable to talk to him, as he has been in surgery for his self-inflicted injury.

However, he commends his fellow troopers and officers, who showed tremendous restraint during the standoff.

“Even when the first round went off, they didn’t shoot back,” he lauded. “Myself and the other trooper took him into custody, while he was still holding his gun and just had to believe he was going to go with us, because he needed help. We could see he was bleeding.”

Warrants for Sayre and his accomplice are to follow, but for now West is happy to report that no trooper or deputy fired a shot or got shot during the standoff.