By By Adam Prestridge
Alabama Bureau of Investigation officers were headed to Atmore late Tuesday evening to investigate after a sheriff's deputy apparently shot a 21-year-old Atmore man during an altercation a few hours earlier.
An Escambia County Sheriff's deputy shot Dayshawn Dixon in the left side of his neck after a second deputy attempted to arrest his brother, Derrick Dixon, 19, according family members and eyewitnesses at the scene of the Fourth Street shooting.
Medics with Kelley's Ambulance Service transported Dayshawn Dixon to Atmore Community Hospital, and LifeFlight later airlifted him to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla.
Officers from across the county, including Atmore, Flomaton, Brewton, East Brewton and Poarch were called to the scene to assist with crowd control and to help preserve the crime scene.
Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith would not comment on any specifics regarding the shooting and did not release the names of the officers involved, but he did say that the investigation was going to be handed over to the state.
Catina Dixon, who is a first cousin of the brothers and lives next door, said officers arrived to take Derrick Dixon into custody around 4 p.m. and the events following are what led to the shooting.
Family members said both brothers are mentally unstable and that officers had come to take Derrick Dixon back to Searcy Hospital in Mount Vernon, which they believe was at the request of the hospital. Family members did not specify what the mental problems were. &#8220Both of them have mental problems,” Catina Dixon said. &#8220They are certified at mental health and everything. I don't know why (deputies) came for him.”
Derrick Dixon was able to flee officers despite being shot with a taser numerous times, family members said.
That's when Dayshaun came outside to see what was going on, Catina Dixon said.
When the shots were fired, onlookers began arriving at the scene. Atmore Fire and Rescue Department personnel were called to block off Martin Luther King Avenue and other side streets to prevent additional onlookers from forming a crowd.
Smith said the officers involved in the shooting were taken to a nearby hospital to receive treatment for some cuts, scrapes and bruises.