The 911 call that took deputies to the scene of a deadly officer-involved shooting in North Georgia on New Year’s Day is under investigation, the GBI said.
Mark Steven Parkinson, 65, died in the early morning incident after Walker County deputies followed up on the 911 call, Channel 2 Action News reported.
The 911 caller said a woman at the residence was threatening to kill herself and her children, the GBI said.
At the scene, Walker County Deputy John Chandler, who was outside the house, saw Parkinson in the kitchen and pointing a gun through a kitchen window at him, GBI agent Greg Ramey told the Walker County Messenger.
Parkinson was aware someone was outside the home, Ramey said. Deputies announced multiple times they were from the sheriff’s office.
Parkinson was in the kitchen 15-30 seconds before the deputy fired the shots that hit him, Ramey said.
"This was a terrible tragedy," Ramey said.
EXCLUSIVE: Over the Line: Police shootings in Georgia
INTERACTIVE: Mapping officer-involved shootings
Diana Parkinson, the victim’s wife, told Channel 2 that he heard some commotion outside and they thought maybe intruders were on the property.
“By the time I got into the kitchen, which probably was 30 seconds after he got up, he was already on the floor and had been shot,” she said.
She thinks if her husband had known that law enforcement officers were outside, he would’ve put his gun down.
“He is not the type of man that would aim a weapon at someone,” she said, “unless he thought someone was going to hurt his family.”
Ramey said the GBI is trying to determine if the caller, a woman, was giving genuine information or making the call based on misleading information, according to the newspaper. He said the woman caller was not in the household and is not a blood relative to anyone in the residence. Her identity has not been released.
Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson told Channel 2 that he is conducting his own investigation.
The first officer-involved shooting in Georgia in 2018 came after 97 in 2017, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said Thursday. There were 83 in 2016.
Read more of the story here (subscription site).
Know what's really going on with crime and public safety in your metro Atlanta community, including breaking news, trial coverage, trends and the latest on unsolved cases. Sign up for the AJC's crime and safety newsletter delivered weekly to your inbox.
In other news:
About the Author
