Off-Duty Columbus Police Officer Working Security Fatally Shoots Armed Man
Columbus GA March 15, 2022
A Columbus police officer has been placed on administrative leave after shooting an armed man early Friday morning, the Columbus Police Department announced in a press release.
The officer was identified as Ryan Vardman by Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan.
Vardman was working security at a nearby Chevron station with another off-duty officer when he encountered the suspect exchanging gunfire with another person around 2:30 a.m., police said.
The officer told him to drop his weapon and when the suspect did not, the officer fired.
Alonzo Carter, 32, was pronounced dead at 3:25 a.m. at The Flame, a gentleman’s club previously known as Club Fetish at 4505 Armour Road, confirmed Bryan.
A semi-automatic handgun was found on Carter’s body, according to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
In 2017, Vardman hit and killed a murder suspect after a chase on Cussetta Road.
Carter’s family released a statement via Columbus attorney Jennifer Dunlap stating, “Alonzo was a caring father, a brother, a son and a friend to many. His death at the hands of an undercover law enforcement officer is devastating.” It continues to say the family is “pursuing additional information” and requesting cell phone footage or details.
An unidentified woman on the scene was also shot and transported to Columbus Piedmont Regional Hospital. Her status is unknown, Bryan said, and about 40 shell casings littered the parking lot.
The GBI is currently investigating the incident, which is standard in police shootings.
This is the second officer-involved shooting in Columbus this week and the fifth this year.
On Monday, an officer fired into a car during a suspected theft and two people were wounded. Anyone with information about the fatal shooting can contact GBI’s Columbus Investigative Office at (706) 565-7888 or submit an anonymous tip at 1-800-597-8477 or online.
ledger-enquirer.com
