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Wrong-house DeKalb police shooting settled for $60,000

A DeKalb Police officer works from his car at the scene of an officer-involved shooting Monday where police responded to the wrong house on a burglary call. Ben Gray/bgray@ajc.com

Credit: BEN GRAY / AJC

Credit: BEN GRAY / AJC

A DeKalb Police officer works from his car at the scene of an officer-involved shooting Monday where police responded to the wrong house on a burglary call. Ben Gray/bgray@ajc.com
By Mark Niesse
June 26, 2017

DeKalb County police barged into an unarmed man's East Atlanta house, shot him in the leg and killed his 9-year-old dog.

Now the county is paying $60,000 to the man and his family to settle the case and avoid a lawsuit. The DeKalb Commission approved unanimously the payout June 6.

An internal affairs report outlined a series of mistakes made by police officers.

They showed up at the wrong house in response to a 911 call about a suspicious man in the neighborhood on Aug. 31, 2015. Then they were startled and opened fire when Chris McKinley and his dog, Yanna, walked through a door. Two officers fired seven shots, also hitting one of the officers.

The DeKalb District Attorney’s Office is still investigating the case.

Exclusive to subscribers: Read the full story on myAJC.com.

Yanna, a 10-year-old female boxer, was killed Monday by DeKalb County police responding to the wrong house. (Credit: McKinley family)
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In other DeKalb news:

Channel's Nefertiti Jaquez reports.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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