Let the man rest in peace he's gone

Let him rest in peace god said if we don't forgive

each other he will not forgive us.

Sorry for this extra post, but ceejay also has those silly constitutional rights to speak his mind on issues regardless of if he's a tax payer. My point was a tax payer and citizen seems to have more grounding with his words on a local issue. I live very close to where this happened and I sure wouldn't want it to go down in my driveway, much like if it were to go down in Coates' driveway (for the sake of neighbors, children, etc.). This bad situation was handled as well as it probably could be.

As long as ceejay is a taxpayer in the county (meaning he contributes to the salary of law enforcement), he has the right to question law enforcement's tactics. Making this stop anywhere public could have caused a tragedy, but this, I believe was handled well. Battlefield Parkway is a crowded, busy place and what needed to be done was done and unfortunately one person died. Death isn't "getting what you deserve," (we have jails for that-no one "deserves" to die) but it was the outcome when trying to apprehend a criminal. There are no perfect situations, but this went down pretty efficiently. When someone is unstable and there isn't time to negotiate, decisions have to be made. I think the police did a good job.

CEEJAY: Where specifically would you like police to attemp an arrest at? I have read all these post and well your thoughts of a place where there are not innocents present is absurd? Where is that? I live less than a mile from the incident and I only know a few places with in the city that would meet that criteria. When you make an arrest, you make it where the defendant is at. Not where he should be. What if the defendant got away and went and killed someone, then you would be asking why the officer did not arrest him. When warrants are issued, the first place police go are to the defendants house (imagine that), then they try work, relatives and just where ever they can locate them. You need to really understand the defendant and the defendant alone put innocent lives in danger. Any time a police officer attempts to make an arrest, the defendant can choose to escalate the situation. This escalation can put persons lives at risk. Police are here to protect and thats what they did. Both officers acted professionally and appropriate for the situation.

I think if you want to make a post CEEJAY, it should say "thank you for saving my live (if you where there) and the lives of all the inocent persons in range of the defendants pistol.

But what do I know, I am also, one of those dumb police, that has taken an oath to protect you.

How many times have we read about an abusive spouse with court orders against them killing their victims and the police we blamed about not protecting the victims? I'd say too many more times than an abuser getting killed.

I'm sorry for the man who was killed, his family and the problems they have but they are not alone, everyone has tough times. This is a free country and we all choose how to handle our stresses. This man made his choice and is now suffering the consequence.

Ceejay I guess your also one who wants to have dialog with terrorist? If cops waited for the "Better" option everytime, noone would ever be caught. Stop whinning, its a dangerous world and they did their job.

CEEJAY: YEAH PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT OPIONS BUT I TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH YOURS HONEY. I REALLY HATED SEEING THIS ALL FOLD DOWN. I WAS IN THE DRIVE THRU RIGHT THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED. I WISH NO ONE EVER TO SEE A SCENE LIKE THIS. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE. ALL I HAVE TO SAY FROM WHAT I SEEN (NOT KNOWING ANY OF THESE PEOPLE) IS THE BRAVE OFFICERS WAS DOING THERE JOB. WAY TO GO GUYS! IT WAS NOT THE OFFICERS CHOICE WHERE COATS PULLED OVER AT. IT COULD HAD BEEN ANYWHERE. MY HEART & PRAYERS GO OUT TO ALL DEALING WITH THIS TERRIBLE SITUATION. GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Maybe ceejay should let all the criminals know that from now on they need to think about the public. So the next time an Officer goes to pull a criminal over they will let the officer know where a good safe place to pull them over is. And if in a public place and the suspect wants to shoot at them he will tell the police to follow him to a range. But I don’t think that will go to far with the criminal’s ceejay.

To Officer Miller, and all the others that serve in this very dangerous field, Thank you very much for protecting me, my wife, my daughter and her three girls.

I don't understand how anyone can be the slightest upset with how any of the officers involved in this case, none of them not WCSD, FOPD Chickamauga PD. Great job!

Someone posted:

2. Would it have been better for you if they would have followed him down 2A and when he decided to run at a high rate of speed to hit innocent people with his car? Just asking so the next time this happens they can please you.

Such a poor choice of words. And an even worse assumption. But I "think" I posted my concern of innocent people being struck by a stray bullet. Is there a difference of being struck by a car and being struck by a stray bullet? Is one better than the other?

Excuse me, is someone on here suggesting I can't have an opinion or a thought on this incident? If so, then why do you get an opinion or a thought on what I posted?

Someone said earlier that he had been through some tragic circumstances this last year. In the last 15 months, I lost my mother, my sister, my aunt, and recently my son. As sad as all that is, it did not cause me to strike out at a human being. Realizing that he needed help should not place blame on the officer. It is true, he was probably crying for help in his own way. Unfortunately, he got what he wanted, a way out. The police are here to protect and serve the public. They did just that. I'm sorry for the family of the man, but when you put yourself deliberately in harms way, these things happen.

To the folks making excuses for the dirtbag...Ya know, other people have suffered great tragedies in their lives & not turned to a life of crime. Let's not forget, he intended to kill that police officer.

Bottom line: This guy made one bad decision too many & paid with his life. As far as I'm concerned, there's now one less sociopath endangering the public.

Ceejay posted "Get him at home" and "Get him when he is in a less public area".

Ceejay, you acknowledge that you are not law enforcement therefore you should not be judging or trying to critique the job these guys do.

1. They have been to his home. They have been looking for him for months. I'm not a criminal but do encounter them daily. Many will tell you they will not stay where they can be found.

2. Would it have been better for you if they would have followed him down 2A and when he decided to run at a high rate of speed to hit innocent people with his car? Just asking so the next time this happens they can please you.

Either way, it is easy for side line players to sit and judge others. Until you have what it takes to put your life on the line every day then do us all a favor and try not to come up with scenarios. Leave that to the professionals who know what their talking about. These men and women "Protect and Serve" and are willing to place their lives on the line for every citizen and don't get the recognition they deserve. It is very unfortunate that this young man lost his life but the officers did what they had to do to survive. Mr. Coats pulled the gun on them first and they reacted to his actions. In times like these, you don't have time to go to the sideline and look at the playbook and pick the best play to use. The officers depend on training and judgment at times like these. This time their training and judgment was correct with unfortunate circumstances for the young man.

Officer Moore is an outstanding officer who goes above and beyond to help others. I do not know Officer Miller personally but I am sure he is as professional.

I am amazed at the people who have never stepped into a law enforcement officers position, yet seem to have a better way of doing things. We almost never get to choose where we stop someone. When the lights come on sometimes people stop on the road sometimes they drive into a parking lot such as the chick filet sometimes they don't stop at all. Also, guess what when people know they have warrants they dont sit at there house and wait for us to come get them. They stay on the run and when the chance to get them is there we have sworn to do that. So I would say unless you were there and saw what really happened then you don't really need to come up with theses crazy ideas about why didn't they just go to his house? why didn't they stop him in the middle of a 40 acre field. I'm not trying to be rude to anyone but just to try to help you understand that officers dont control what happens we react to a set of circumstances that are happening in a split second. The officer almost never causes what happens. The suspect is the one that made this a gun fight. Hes the one that made the decision to escalate this into a life or death situation. Is it a terrible thing? yes, but second guessing someone that risked his life to protect and serve is crazy. Yes both of these officers protected and served. Dont forget about the lady at home that had been apparently stalked and abused by this suspect. They were protecting her from him by attempting to arrest him.

Sounds like ceejay should become an officer and show the rest how it should be done. If I am not mistaken it was in Chik-fil-a parking lot which was closed at the time. No customers = no bystanders.

Speaking as someone that knew the family of John Coates, my heart and prayers go out to this family as well as the officer that was involved. I know that John has had a hard time dealing with the loss of his brother and the breakup of his marraige. When his brother passed away, right around a year ago, he told me personally that he had lost his best friend. It was really hard on him. I know his parents personally, and I know how hard this must be on them, losing both their children within a year. I agree with another poster that this "suspect" was not a monster, just someone with some very deep emotional scars. My heart and prayers go out to EVERYONE involved.

I know officer Moore he did his job the way it was supposed to have been done. The suspect knew he had a warrant for him and he knew that they would get him. He made his choice and Officer Moore and Officer Miller from WCSD did what they had to do. Anyone who is a officer or is a friend with a officer knows what they go through everyday and im sure they didnt go out and say today im going to kill someone. They do their job and if someone puts their self in that postion then they get what they deserve

A point of view from someone who knew the "suspect". It is obvious that none of you actually knew this man or the tragedies that he has been through in the last year. While none of these things excuse what occured it doesn't give you or the media the right to paint him out to be some kind monster or big time fugitive. This man has lost his brother and his family all in the same year. Some people don't deal well with that and he turned to drugs for comfort. When you are on drugs your mind is not functioning properly and all kinds of thoughts go through your mind. And yes, I believe the police could have handled this differently. Anybody that tells an officer "you are not taking me alive" should have been a giant red flag that this man is armed and should not have been approached. They could have surrounded him and had a mediator that is trained in this type of situation try and talk to him, while the officers evacuated the area. This man needed serious mental help and his friends tried to get him to seek this help. It is certainly a tradegy and I am thankful to God that the officer is going to make a full recovery and no one else was hurt. He will be sorely missed. Pray for his daughter and family to find the strength to bury another son (father). May God bless you all.

I don't understand what ceejay's problem is. No one, other than the suspect, was injured. There was an opportunity to apprehend him and they tried. He made it clear he would not be taken alive, so they removed him from this earth, thankfully. No civilians were harmed. The police office was shot but had his vest on and will live. It seems like your just trying to find something to gripe about. I think the officers did an outstanding job.