DeKalb County GA police officer shot to death during traffic stop
DeKALB COUNTY, Georgia December 14 2018 – A DeKalb County police officer was shot and killed by a suspect Thursday during a traffic stop on Candler Road, authorities said.
The officer, who has not been named, pulled over a male suspect near I-20 around 5 p.m., DeKalb police Chief James Conroy said at a news conference.
The suspect ran away, and when the officer pursued, the man pulled out a handgun and shot the officer, Conroy said.
The officer was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital before succumbing to his injuries. Conroy said he had been with the department for about a year and a half.
The suspect ran and hid behind a business on Candler Road, and a police dog ended up helping other officers find him, Conroy said. The suspect then shot the dog before being shot several times by the other officers.
The suspect, who was in his 20s to 30s, also died from his wounds at Grady, and the police dog is undergoing treatment while in critical condition at a local veterinarian, Conroy said.
The DeKalb officer was the fifth Georgia officer killed in the line of duty this year, and the 30th DeKalb police officer to be killed on the job. The last DeKalb County police officer killed in the line of duty was Master Patrol Officer Kevin Jermaine Toatley, who died in a car crash on Sept. 19, 2015.
Governor-elect Brian Kemp tweeted his condolences for the officer, saying, “We are forever grateful for his service and sacrifice. Our prayers are with those who mourn.”
The DeKalb officer was the second metro Atlanta officer shot in a week. On Dec. 6, a Henry County officer was critically injured when he was shot in the face. Officer Michael Smith has improved, but remains in the hospital.
The incident Thursday briefly shut down I-20 in both directions, and Candler Road between Misty Water and Tilson roads remains blocked for investigators, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported. More than 70 police vehicles were at the scene after the initial incident.
The GBI has been contacted to investigate the incident, making it the fifth officer-involved shooting investigation opened since Sunday, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said.
Those incidents include shootings in Chatham County, Turner County, Gordon County and Bibb County.
The incident in DeKalb County is the 89th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been called to investigate this year, which surpasses the 88 such investigations opened last year, Miles said.
