<p>State authorities have cleared two Whitfield County sheriff's deputies who shot and killed an 85-year-old man last week.</p><p>The Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded the officers, Jason Cooley and Clay Pangle, acted appropriately because the man fired at them.</p><p>A GBI report said John Smith fired one round at the deputies when they were called to his home. The deputies returned fire, hitting Smith twice in the chest.</p><p>Family members disputed the GBI's account.</p><p>"My brother was 85 years old. He was an invalid. He was in his own bed in his own home," sister Christine Hicks told The Daily Citizen of Dalton.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2867e2c)</p>
