Police, GBI investigating off-duty officer killing man near Buckhead bar
The Atlanta Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are probing an officer-involved shooting that occurred late Saturday near a Buckhead bar.
An Atlanta officer, working an off-duty job, responded around 11:35 p.m. Saturday after security at 5 Paces Inn asked for assistance, according to police. According to police, a “disruptive patron” was trying to reenter the bar from the back parking lot.
When the officer approached the patron, Linton Blackwell, 44, according to the GBI, Blackwell walked away from the officer and toward a parking lot in the back of the business.
The officer followed Blackwell, who entered a car and placed an “item in the small of his back,” the GBI said. The agency said the officer gave him commands referencing a gun.
The officer discharged his weapon, hitting Blackwell, who was pronounced dead on the scene, according to the agency.
A handgun was recovered from the scene, the GBI said.
Once the GBI completes its investigation, the agency said it would give the case file to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for review.
About the Author
Caleb Groves is a general assignment reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's politics team and a Kennesaw State University graduate.
