A former Fulton County sheriff's major accidentally shot and killed his wife Friday, according to Griffin police.

Riley Taylor, 54, was unloading his gun at a family function when it discharged, and the bullet struck his 54-year-old wife, Denise, said Griffin police spokesman Cpl. Bryan Clanton.

AJC

Maj. Riley Taylor of Fulton Sheriff's Department before his retirement in a 2002 photo

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"There is no criminal investigation because there was no criminal intent," Clanton said.

Riley Taylor was a veteran of the Fulton County Sheriff's Department under retired Sheriff Jackie Barrett. He retired from a post at the jail as a lieutenant in 2007 after having his rank reduced by Barrett, who was under fire for financial mismanagement of the department and for deficiencies at the jail.

Shortly after he retired, U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob tapped Taylor to become the auditor of jail records. Shoob is overseeing the jail in response to a lawsuit that charged it was overcrowded, dirty and dangerous.