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Smyrna police now say the man who died during a U-Haul traffic stop early Friday morning died by his own hand, not from an officer’s bullet.
Smyrna officer-involved shooting
The department released an update Friday evening citing a forensic examination by the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office. Investigators confirmed the fatal injury was self-inflicted. Police said they issued the update “promptly” to correct misinformation that had begun circulating. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is still handling the case.
According to authorities, a Smyrna police officer spotted a stolen U-Haul truck around 6 a.m. and attempted a traffic stop. The vehicle eventually came to a halt on McLinden Avenue near Concord Road SE.
Police say they issued multiple commands during a felony stop, when a gunshot was fired from inside the truck. Officers returned fire. When they approached the U-Haul, they found the driver, identified as 46-year-old Darrick Desawn Rooks of Marietta, dead from a gunshot wound. No officers were hurt.
Rooks’ body will undergo an autopsy at the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office. Once the GBI completes its investigation, the case will be turned over to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office for review.
A U-Haul contractor told FOX 5 Atlanta the truck was reported stolen just one day earlier. It was rented by a woman earlier this month and was overdue to be returned on Oct. 8. The contractor said the man shot by police was not the original renter, and it’s unclear how he gained access to the vehicle.
No officers were injured during the incident, according to Smyrna PD.
Who is Darrick Desawn Rooks?
Rook’s fiancée, Chantriece Marrow, says he had left to donate plasma for money.
“I got a voicemail. I heard everything before he took his last breath. He kept saying, help me. Somebody help me,” Marrow said. Moments earlier, she recalled saying, “They did it. They did it.”
William Platt, a U-Haul contractor who helps recover stolen trucks, told FOX 5 he had already spoken to investigators and confirmed the vehicle was overdue and should have been returned on October 8.
“U-Haul put in the stolen report on the 23rd, which was yesterday, and apparently the stolen report kicked in immediately,” Platt said.
He says the truck was rented under Marrow’s name and that no one else should have been driving it.
Marrow says they were living inside the truck.
“We were sleeping in there. We were homeless. We were sleeping right over here. We were homeless,” she said. She also says she does not believe Rooks would have shot at officers.
Smyrna police say traffic stops, especially before daylight, can quickly escalate.
“Traffic stops, you know, can be very uncertain…uncertain because you never know what you’re going to find on a traffic stop. Especially when when it’s still dark outside and it’s early in the morning,” said Lt. Meredith Holt.
GBI investigates Smyrna U-Haul shooting
Authorities have not said whether a firearm was recovered from inside the U-Haul or how many shots were fired.
Investigators have not confirmed who fired the first shot heard during the stop.
It is unclear how Rooks came into possession of the overdue vehicle or whether officers knew his identity beforehand.
Police have not said whether dashboard or body camera video captured the incident or whether that footage will be made public.
Officials have not indicated whether anyone else witnessed the shooting or called 911 before officers arrived.
