“My father should be alive today,” says daughter of Billy Dewayne Couch, man shot in the back by a Gordon Co. Sheriff’s Deputy.
ROME, Ga. – Last January, Billy Dewayne Couch—an unarmed 51-year-old father and grandfather—was killed in the backyard of his family’s rural home in Sugar Valley, shot in the back by Gordon County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron “Storm” Carnes.
Today, Mr. Couch’s family filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court against Carnes, Sheriff Mitch Ralston, and Gordon County, for their role in his unlawful and unjustified killing.
“My father should be alive today, living his life and seeing his grandchildren grow up,” says Kelsey Morgan Brown, the victim’s daughter. “Instead, this senseless act of violence by a Gordon County sheriff’s deputy took him from us forever. We are bringing this lawsuit to try to get justice the only way we can think of in the midst of this immense tragedy.”
It was shortly after midnight on January 24, 2023 when Carnes followed Mr. Couch home. According to the complaint filed today, as Mr. Couch exited his truck, Carnes charged at him with his weapon drawn, shouting profanities. Mr. Couch showed the deputy his hands, which were empty, and was seeking safety when Carnes—without issuing any verbal warning—fired four bullets, three of which struck Mr. Couch in the back. For the next ten minutes, as Mr. Couch bled to death laying in the mud, Deputy Carnes provided him no medical attention, and in fact obstructed medical assistance.
Carnes claimed he fired after Mr. Couch reached for his waist in a drawing motion. However, as the complaint contends, “Mr. Couch did not make a drawing motion—he had nothing to draw.”
This was not Deputy “Storm” Carnes’ first use of deadly force, or his first time using a similar excuse to justify his actions. In April 2022, Defendant Carnes was one of two Gordon County Sheriff’s deputies who shot and killed Casey Honea, 26. Carnes faced no sanction after he and his fellow deputy claimed Honea, like Couch, had reached for his waist.
As the lawsuit contends, this history should have alerted Carnes’ supervisor, Sheriff Ralston, of Carnes’ propensity to use excessive deadly force in violation of the constitutional rights of the people of Gordon County. Instead, after both cases, Deputy Carnes was quickly permitted to return to normal law enforcement duties. This failure of oversight, and other established policies and procedures of the Gordon Co. Sheriff’s department, directly contributed to Mr. Couch’s tragic death.
“For the second time, Deputy ‘Storm’ Carnes has shot and killed an unarmed civilian,” says attorney David B. Owens of Loevy & Loevy, who represents the family. “And, for the second time, the Sheriff and the government of Gordon County have put this officer back on the streets with a gun and permission to use violence with some form of impunity. Today’s lawsuit seeks justice for the family, but it is also meant to send a strong and clear message that Gordon County bears responsibility for the unnecessary loss of life that it could have prevented.”
A copy of the complaint filed today can be found here.
Mr. Couch’s estate and family is represented by attorneys Jeff Filipovits and Wingo F. Smith of Spears & Filipovits, David B. Owens of Loevy & Loevy, and Rachel Nowlin-Sohl of the UW Civil Rights and Justice Clinic.
