Sgt Wayne Delk of the Cobb County Police Department announced in a public information release yesterday afternoon that Jonathan Denham, 41, was killed when an allegedly fleeing suspect in a felony crashed head-on into his vehicle.

[The Cobb County Courier has a policy of withholding or redacting the name of suspects unless and until the person is convicted in a court of law or enters a plea of guilty. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty, and the internet has no effective way of removing reports of arrest if the person is exonerated. We do make exceptions in high-profile cases or charges against public officials where exoneration is likely to be as widely publicized as the initial arrest]

The public information release describes the incident as follows:

On September 2, 2022, Cobb County Police began pursuing an armed suspect in Cobb County. The pursuit continued into Fulton County. Cobb officers conducted a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) maneuver that successfully ended the initial pursuit on I-285 south of I-20. While conducting a felony traffic stop in the roadway, an officer on foot was nearly struck by a Dodge Durango.

Cobb officers then initiated a pursuit of the Durango but lost sight of that vehicle shortly after it exited the interstate at Camp Creek Parkway. The Durango was subsequently involved in a collision with an uninvolved Honda Pilot. The driver of the Honda, 41-year-old Jonathon Denham, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the Durango, 28-year-old [name redacted by the Cobb County Courier], was transported to Grady Hospital and has since been charged with Aggravated Assault Against Law Enforcement Officer (F) and Fleeing Or Attempting to Elude (F)—Fulton County warrants EW-0376613 and EW-0376614, respectively. [name redacted by the Cobb County Courier] also has outstanding warrants in Pennsylvania (weapons and drug offenses) and Chicago (burglary).

Additional charges are pending related to the fatal traffic crash.

The Cobb County Police Department wishes to express sincere condolences to Mr. Denham’s family and friends. Our officers attempt to remove dangerous subjects from society as safely and quickly as feasible to prevent tragedies like this one from occurring.

The incident is being investigated by the Georgia State Patrol.