Young locals in Valdosta chose to show their support for recovering officer after ambush shooting in Valdosta Friday.
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A man who called 911 to report a vehicle break-in Friday ambushed a south Georgia police officer dispatched to the scene, sparking a shootout in which both the officer and suspect were wounded, authorities said.
During an interview with police Saturday, Beck confessed to calling 911 and shooting Officer Hancock because “he wanted the police to shoot him as he wanted to die”, the GBI reported.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says Stephen Paul Beck of Valdosta called 911 Friday morning to report a auto break-in, then shot the responding officer multiple times. The suspected shooter, Stephen Paul Beck, 22, of Valdosta, was hit when Hancock returned fire, the GBI said in a press release. Beck told agents he suffers from depression and has no hatred for police.
No charges have been filed in the case yet, but a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer is expected, the GBI report stated. The Dallas officers were shot during a protest over the recent killings of black men by police in Minnesota and Louisiana.
Both Hancock and Beck are still hospitalized and each is in stable condition, the GBI said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting of a Valdosta police officer who is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds and identified the shooter who was also injured in a Friday morning shootout. Officer Hancock is white and Beck, his arrested assailant, is Asian.
However, upon arrival, officer Randall Hancock was sacked upon three times – twice in his protective vest and once below.
The ambush in Dallas has put police officers all over the country on edge and placed even more strain on the already fraught relationship between law enforcement and many communities of color.
Dutton said there’s no evidence to support a connection with the shootings in Dallas.
‘The officer called out on the radio screaming for assistance, ‘ Childress said, and officers from multiple law enforcement agencies swarmed the apartment complex.
GBI officials said authorities recovered Beck’s auto, a 2009 silver Nissan Sentra, Friday night.
At the time of the shooting, Beck lived at the Three Oaks Apartments where the gunfire erupted Friday.
People who know Beck told the AP that they thought he was a success story of sorts. He also said the criminal justice is traditionally unfair to black men.
Hancock, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was taken to South Georgia Medical Center. “Nobody can anticipate these things happening”, said VPD Chief Brian Childress.
“You start to wonder”, the police chief said.
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Police are still looking for Beck’s vehicle, a 2009 silver Nissan Sentra with a Georgia license plate PVW 814.
