Machete-wielding man shot by LaGrange police; GBI investigating
A machete-wielding man was shot by a LaGrange police officer after multiple attempts to subdue him. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now investigating the incident.
According to police, the encounter began at 12:01 a.m. on November 25, 2025, when officers attempted to make contact with a man identified as Cody Porter, who was walking east on Laurel Lane. Porter was known to have multiple felony warrants. As officers attempted to arrest him, he ignored commands and fled on foot.
“Additional officers attempted to block Mr. Porter’s path of escape but were unable to do so successfully, as he was armed with a machete and continually reached into his waistband with his free hand, stating that he was going to shoot the pursuing officers,” police said.
Officers deployed several less-than-lethal options, including a Taser and a BolaWrap, but both were ineffective despite multiple attempts. Police said they then tried to negotiate with Porter to establish rapport, but those efforts were also unsuccessful.
During the continued pursuit, Porter raised the machete “in an offensive manner,” prompting an officer, who was providing cover for the team, to fire his department-issued sidearm. Porter was struck once in the leg as he threw the machete toward officers.
“The machete struck the ditch on the opposite side of the roadway, a distance of more than 47 feet from where Mr. Porter was standing,” police said.
Porter was taken into custody without further incident and transported to Columbus Midtown Medical Center for treatment. No officers were injured.
Multiple felony charges against Porter are pending. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
This incident marks the third officer-involved shooting in the Chattahoochee Valley region in eight days. The first occurred in Harris County, where a man was shot and killed by deputies during an exchange of gunfire following a deadly domestic violence incident. The second happened in Chambers County, where a man wanted for shooting into a patrol car was killed by police during another exchange of gunfire.
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