What happened?
Shortly after 7:30 p.m. Monday, three DeKalb County police officers were responding to a burglary call in a subdivision off Bouldercrest Road. Without more specific information from dispatch, they found a home that matched the description and entered through an unlocked back door, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.
The homeowner went to the door because he heard voices in the backyard. In the following moments, two of the responding officers opened fire. The homeowner's dog was killed and he and an officer were shot.
Who were the victims?
Homeowner Chris McKinley was shot in the leg, and his dog — a female boxer — was killed. McKinley was released from the hospital Tuesday morning and was seen leaving his home on crutches around midday. Right before the shooting, McKinley and his wife, Leah, were watching TV and their 1-year-old child was also in the home, according to a neighbor who came to the aid of McKinley following the shooting.
The police officer, who was shot in the hip, was in serious but stable condition Tuesday. The names of the officers have not be released.
Where did this happen?
The McKinleys live in the 1500 block of Boulderwoods Drive, just off Bouldercrest Road and about a mile south of I-20 in southeast Atlanta in DeKalb County.
What’s next?
The GBI is handling the investigation and all three officers at the scene — whose names have not been released — have been placed on paid administrative leave.
Interim DeKalb police Chief James Conroy said the incident has prompted the department to review its when-to-shoot training protocol.
What is being said?
DeKalb director of public safety Cedric Alexander said police have been forthright in how they handled Monday’s incident.
“Are we perfect? Absolutely not. But when we find that we made a mistake, we own it. We own the fact that we were at the wrong house,” he said. “We didn’t hide it. We didn’t mismanage it. We were at the wrong location based on information that was given to us.”
Interim DeKalb police Chief James Conroy said police often have difficulties when people call 911 from cellphones but aren’t able to provide an accurate address.
“Without getting into the specifics of this case, that’s one of the challenges when people call 911, we often don’t know where they are,” Conroy said. “We want officers to go out and investigate crimes like this rather than react. We want to go out and actually apprehend criminals and help people.”
Tama Colson lives two doors down from the McKinleys. She said that, more than anything, the situation angers her.
“Maybe they panicked, they were scared, they saw the dogs, but the fact of the matter is they could’ve killed him,” Colson said. “And if Leah was right there, they could’ve killed him, her and the baby.”
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