According to a public information release from Officer Chuck McPhilamy of the Marietta Police Department, officers non-fatally wounded a man when he allegedly pointed a gun at them during a mental health crisis call on Frances Avenue.
The incident occurred at around 10:20 p.m. Saturday.
The Marietta Fire Department initially responded to the call, then asked the police to respond when they reported a man waving a rifle.
The public information release described the incident as follows:
“The caller told Cobb County 911 dispatchers that his son was in a crisis and suicidal. When MFD arrived, they observed a male on the roof of the residence with a rifle. MFD responders sought cover away from the suspect and requested Marietta Police Department (MPD) officers respond immediately.
“When officers arrived they observed a male on the roof, now confirmed to be twenty-five-years-old, waving a rifle. The suspect refused verbal commands to drop the weapon and instead raised it and pointed it at our officers.
“Officers fired their weapons, striking the man before he dropped the weapon and surrendered. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was injured during this incident.
“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was contacted, and the shooting investigation has been turned over to them. Any additional information will come from their office.”
The GBI’s role in officer-involved shootings
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation routinely investigates the shooting of individuals by police officers, as well as any time an officer discharges a firearm while on duty, at the request of the police agency involved in the shooting.
Natalie Ammons, the Deputy Director of the GBI’s Office of Public Affairs explained to us how the system works.
Police agencies are not required to request outside investigation of officer involved shootings, and there is no formal agreement between the GBI and local police departments.
But police agencies make the request so that an independent agency does the investigation in an incident involving their own officers.
The investigations are carried out by Special Agents in a regional office within the area where the police agency is located. Cobb County, and much of the rest of metro Atlanta, is in the GBI’s Region 10, based in Conyers.
In Region 10, officer involved shootings and corruption investigations are the primary investigations Special Agents do, while in more rural areas with fewer police resources the agents handle a wider range of criminal investigations.
There is no special unit or division that conducts the investigation of officer involved shootings.
The announcements of the investigations can be found at the GBI’s press release web page.
