Authorities in Spalding County are investigating an incident in which an off-duty police officer was shot during a domestic disturbance.
Sheriff's deputies responded to an incident Tuesday at a residence on Old Atlanta Road in Griffin, where they found the victim, an off-duty Griffin police officer, with a bullet wound to his hip, said Capt. Tony Ranieri, chief investigator for the Spalding County Sheriff's Office. The man's injuries were not life-threatening, he said.
Investigators determined that the police officer, who's name has not been released, was shot during a dispute with the former boyfriend of a woman the officer was visiting.
The suspect, identified as Richard Bivens, 30, of Locust Grove, was charged with battery. He was jailed and released on bond, Ranieri said.
Bivens claimed he acted in self-defense and didn't know the man was a police officer, Ranieri said.
Investigators from the sheriff's office and the Spalding County District Attorney's Office are investigating.
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