WARM SPRINGS, Ga. — Body camera and gas station surveillance footage released by police shows a heated traffic stop that turned physical just five days before Warm Springs Police Sgt. Chris Fisher was gunned down in his patrol car in what investigators described as a targeted attack.
On the night of Aug. 27, 2026, Sgt. Fisher, 36, approached 23-year-old Jimmy Lee Steverson at a Marathon gas station after smelling a strong odor of marijuana coming from Steverson’s black Chevrolet Silverado as it passed with the windows down. Steverson denied having marijuana, questioned how the officer could have smelled it, and grew non-compliant as Fisher attempted to detain him.
The encounter escalated into a physical struggle. Bodycam footage cuts out for roughly 20 seconds during the fight after the camera was struck or knocked loose. Surveillance video captured the two men wrestling on the ground. Fisher later told Steverson on camera that he swung back after Steverson started swinging first: “You start bucking. And then you start, then you want to start swinging on me, so I swung back.” A Taser was deployed; one prong struck Steverson in the ear. Fisher then handcuffed him.
Police seized more than an ounce of marijuana, multiple AR-style rifles, a large amount of cash, and other items. Steverson was charged with felony marijuana possession, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and obstruction of an officer. He posted a combined $10,000 bond and was released after a short time in custody.
Five days later, on Sept. 1, shortly before midnight, Fisher had just finished assisting with an unrelated traffic stop and was sitting in his marked patrol car in the parking lot of the Meriwether Country Inn. A black 2026 Chevrolet Silverado pulled alongside the driver’s side. The driver, identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as Steverson, fired multiple shots into the vehicle, striking Fisher. The sergeant was pronounced dead at the scene. Steverson fled.
GBI officials characterized the shooting as targeted. Officers noted Steverson had driven past them multiple times that night. The following morning, Anderson County, South Carolina, deputies stopped a vehicle on I-85 in which Steverson was a passenger. He was found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and later died at a hospital.
Fisher had joined the small Warm Springs Police Department in May 2026 and was promoted to sergeant two months later. Colleagues and officials remembered him as a dedicated officer and “great representation of the badge.” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp expressed being “deeply saddened” by the loss. Warm Springs Police Chief Matt Mayfield called Sept. 1 “a very dark moment” for the city and Fisher’s family.
The GBI investigation into the killing remains open. Steverson’s prior arrest and the subsequent ambush have drawn attention to the dangers officers face even after a suspect is released on bond following a violent encounter.
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