A loving little boy that grew into a loving young man
Who heard God's call and took Him by the hand
He made a vow to seek those that were lost
And bring them to God whatever the cost
A husband, a daddy to be, a brother and a son
Whose life is now over when it seems it had just begun
He left this world behind on September 1, 2009
His friends and family still mourn and can't help wonder why
Why did his life have to end in a way he did not deserve?
Killed by those sworn to protect him and to serve
Wrong place, wrong time does not lessen the pain
But we will find comfort in knowing our loss means Heaven's gain
For once again he heard God's call and took Him by the hand
And now he is an angel, this loving young man
He is at home with the one that he gave his heart to so many years ago
And because of his faith his service continues here below
Lost souls are finding their way home to honor his name
The lives he has touched will never be the same
We love you and miss you and though we struggle to understand
In God's care we leave you, our sweet, loving young man.
Pray for Justice
Written by Meg Thomason
Toccoa, Ga. 10/5/09
On September 1, 2009 Reverend Jonathan Ayers was in Toccoa, Georgia. Having new tires put on his wife’s car was on the duty roster for that day. He saw a lady that he had known for about 6 years whom he had witnessed to several times before. She appeared to be having trouble walking.
Jonathan stopped and offered her a ride. She had a woeful tale for Jonathan; she had recently suffered a miscarriage, she was three days behind on her rent, she was still addicted to crack cocaine, and her fiancée hurt his back and couldn’t work. She asked Jonathan if he could help her with the rent. Once again, Jonathan shared the love of Jesus Christ with her, and he encouraged her to turn her life around. Jonathan had given her all the cash that he had on him, which was $23, to help her with her rent. As they parted ways, Jonathan told her, “You don’t owe me anything.”
Plain clothed undercover narcotics agents, who had purchased crack cocaine from the lady a few hours earlier, were watching her and decided to approach and question Jonathan about why he was in her company.
Jonathan stopped at a local gas station and did a withdrawal from the ATM machine to replenish his depleted cash. Knowing the type of person Jonathan was, he probably felt bad that he only had $23 to give the lady when he knew her rent was $30 a day and she was three days behind. He was most likely getting more cash to give to her to catch up the rent.
As Jonathan was backing out to leave, the Escalade raced up behind him with the out-of-uniform agents bailing out, grabbing their guns, and rushing at his vehicle. The men started beating on his car and Jonathan panicked. Fearing he was being robbed, he tried to avoid them and leave, as anyone else would have.
Two of the agents opened fire into the vehicle. Later they claimed Jonathan used the vehicle as a deadly weapon against them, to justify the shooting. In one video, a witness described it as "Gangsta" style in how they rolled up on him.
All of this was caught on video by the gas station's security cameras. Watch it and ask yourself what you would have done? It could have been and may still yet be you.
In the video, you can clearly see that all Jonathan was trying to do was remove himself quickly from what appeared to be a very bad situation. The inexperienced and overzealous officers placed themselves in a point of danger. The station owner refused to release the video to local authorities or any other agency except the Local T.V. station WNEG in Toccoa, GA.
The agents proceeded to pursue Jonathan on foot and in the Escalade as he drove away. He wrecked a few blocks away because of his injuries. He was mortally wounded, terrified, and confused. The agents dragged him from his vehicle in a choke hold, slammed him to the ground, and kneeled on him according to one report from a witness. The paramedics soon arrived. Upon contact with them he asked, “Who shot me?”
He did get to speak to his wife, and he assured her that he had done nothing wrong. He told her to “Take care of herself” before he went into surgery. It was as if he knew he was looking into her sweet face for the last time.
He died in surgery a few hours later, leaving behind a wife that was 16 weeks pregnant with their first child, a family, and a congregation devastated at the loss of this remarkable young man. All knew they lost a man who was baptized very young, ordained at the age of 19, and had devoted his entire life to doing the Lord’s work.
There will be no winners in this situation, but we are determined to clear Jonathan's name, shed light on this tragedy, raise awareness, and strive that something as positive as what Jonathan demonstrated in his own life will come from this situation.
We owe Jonathan that much, don't we?
This website is dedicated to Jonathan Ayers, to the hope that we can get justice for this young man, to the hope that all of the good work that he did can continue, to the hope of raising awareness of the need for training these officers in such tactics, to the fact that we are all equal in God’s eyes, and we are called by Him to witness to those who suffer and are in need of hearing the word. The Sheriff's Department in Toccoa, GA has displayed a level of unprofessionalism that borders on criminal from the onset of this incident. Their contact info is on the Links, Contacts, & Updates Page. They have taken every opportunity to cast a dim light on Jonathan to take the attention away from their misguided actions. The fate of Jonathan's public image, and these men that shot him, are in one man's hands: District Attorney Brian Rickman, whose contact info is also on the Links, Contacts, & Updates Page. Please Pray for the family, friends, and the congregation of Shoal Creek Baptist Church where Jonathan was a pastor. Pray for the District Attorney to make the right decisions. Pray for Justice.
There were several initial condemning reports by the Sheriff 's Department that a person that was involved in a drug deal was shot fleeing from the cops. There were also several conflicting statements that were made to the family by the sheriff's office concerning the incident. Jonathan's wallet had dissapeared for an undetermined amount of time.
Another witness has recently come forward and made the statement that there was video footage of the officers dragging Jonathan from his car, but it was confiscated very quickly by the authorities.
We hope that this video will become available to the investigators that are reviewing the evidence in this case.
The public deserves an explanation of why these tactics were used and why the video was siezed.
They have maintained that the officers clearly identified themselves, but many, many witnesses have implied quite the opposite or just didn't see it that way. One witness has stated all he heard was "Freeze Mother F*****" as they rolled out of the Escalade with guns already drawn.
They seem to be without remorse, and have offered nothing in the way of regret or condolences to the family, his congregation, or the public.
