Federal authorities were seeking to apprehend Ansy Dolce when the convicted robber fled Holly Springs police officers during a traffic stop last year and dragged one of them to death with his car, according to records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
At the time, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation records show, Dolce was on parole for robbery and attempted robbery convictions in New York. He had removed the GPS device he was wearing and failed to report in person to his parole officer and disclose his whereabouts.
He also had an open domestic violence case in Illinois involving his wife, according to the GBI records. A U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force pursued him in New York, Illinois and Missouri. Authorities were surveilling his mother’s home in Waleska before Dolce’s fatal encounter with Holly Springs Police Officer Joe Burson.
The U.S. Marshal Service and Burson’s and Dolce’s families did not respond to requests for comment.
Burson, 24, was among eight Georgia police officers who were killed on duty last year.
State lawmakers are considering a resolution that would dedicate to Burson the Sixes Road and Interstate 575 interchange. State Rep. Brad Thomas, a Holly Springs-area Republican who is sponsoring House Resolution 668, remembers Burson as an officer who cared about the community he served.
“When you have an officer who has given it all, literally, for our safety, we want him to be remembered, especially where we live,” Thomas said. “I hope that memorial there will let every police officer and public safety officer know that in Cherokee: We know you, we love you and your sacrifices won’t be forgotten.”
At a moving funeral service in Woodstock last year, Burson’s friends and family and dozens of uniformed law enforcement officers honored him as a hero and remembered him as a faithful man and a musician who made others around him feel comfortable.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Before his encounter with Burson, Dolce, 29, was a mixed martial arts fighter who went by the nickname “El Dolce,” according to a GoFundMe campaign that was set up to raise money for his funeral and other expenses.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office records show deputies were called to a Woodstock-area home twice based on allegations that Dolce had gotten into fights with his siblings in 2016 and 2017. A report about the 2017 incident noted there were arrest warrants in Marietta for Dolce.
The GBI began looking into Burson’s fatal shooting of Dolce at the request of Holly Springs police. The state agency ultimately produced a 251-page summary of its findings that include details from Holly Springs police camera footage. Those records provide the clearest picture yet of what happened that evening.
Just before midnight on June 16, Holly Springs Police Sgt. Andrew Drake pulled Dolce over on Hickory Road near Harmony Lake Drive for driving 72 mph in a 40-mph zone. Drake “noticed a strong odor of suspected marijuana” coming from Dolce’s gray Nissan Altima and asked Dolce to step outside the vehicle.
Burson arrived on the scene to support Drake and began to question Dolce. At one point, Dolce mentioned something about marijuana to Burson.
“Is there pot in there?” Burson asked him.
Dolce nodded yes.
“How much?” Burson asked.
Dolce then stepped toward his Nissan and told Burson, “I’ll show you.”
“No,” Burson replied before extending his hand and telling Dolce to stop and go back.
Drake told Dolce to put his hands behind his back. As Drake prepared to handcuff him, Dolce fled. Drake and Burson both fired their Tasers at Dolce as he climbed into the driver’s seat of his Nissan. Next, Burson began to struggle with Dolce and attempt to pull him out of the car. Then, Dolce put the car in drive. The Nissan sped off with Burson still inside. The car wrecked in a wooded area near the entrance to Bradshaw Estates Drive. Burson was most likely deceased when officers found him and transported him to the hospital. Dolce died later from gunshot wounds at another area hospital.
Drake said through his attorney that his thoughts and prayers go out to Burson’s and Dolce’s families. He wrote a post about Burson on Facebook in November of last year, saying he missed his colleague.
“Joe Burson was killed a few months back and most of you know he without a doubt saved my life,” Drake wrote. “He backed me up on a traffic stop that went south quickly and he saved my life. I think about Joe every day.”
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
The GBI records also include an Oct. 6 letter from Cherokee County District Attorney Shannon Wallace that says Burson’s fatal shooting of Dolce was legally justified. Wallace added she would have prosecuted Dolce for murder and other charges, had Dolce lived. Asked to elaborate, she told the AJC her office would have also likely sought to prosecute Dolce on charges of obstruction of an officer, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, speeding and giving a false name to authorities.
“It is still difficult to talk about the senseless tragedy that occurred last summer in Cherokee County when Holly Springs Officer Joe Burson was killed while doing his job,” she said in an email. “A routine traffic stop for speeding should never turn tragic as it did here. Our community continues to mourn the loss of Officer Burson and honor his bravery and service above self.”
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