The Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued a statement on its investigation of the fatal shooting of a Carrollton man by Cobb County police officers when they were called for a domestic dispute involving a reported threat with a fiream.

The incident took place on Michael Drive

Michael Drive is off Austell Road between Windy Hill Road and County Services Parkway.

The GBI public information release reads as follows:

“The GBI is investigating an officer involved shooting in Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia. The Cobb County Police Department (CCPD) asked the GBI to conduct an independent investigation on Saturday, June 10, 2023. One man, identified as Murdock Jackson, age 33, of Carrollton, died during the incident. No officers were injured during the incident.

“The preliminary information indicates CCPD officers responded to 3013 Michael Drive in Marietta, GA after a 911 call of a domestic dispute.  The 911 call came from a neighbor who was not on scene but had been contacted by the female victim. 

“The female victim told the caller that her boyfriend had physically assaulted her and threatened her with a firearm.  The responding officers found the female victim and Jackson in the driveway of the home.  Jackson was armed with a handgun.  During the incident, responding officers shot Jackson.  He died at the scene.  

“Jackson was taken to the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

“The GBI will conduct an independent investigation. Once complete, the case file will be given to the Cobb Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.

“This is the 45^th officer involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2023.“

Role of the GBI in investigation of shootings by police officers

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.