By all accounts, Georgia State Trooper Jacob Fields is bouncing back nicely from the wounds he sustained during a shootout on I-75 earlier this week — and his employer wants you to know how to share words of gratitude and encouragement as his recovery continues.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety tweeted Friday that cards can be sent to GSP Post 9, 3993 Aviation Circle, Atlanta, Ga., 30336.
Fields, 26, was shot in the leg and abdomen during the Wednesday afternoon incident, which began when he tried to pull over a suspected speeder on I-75 near Chastain Road. The speeder, later identified as 26-year-old Israel Vladimir Rodriguez, fled and led Fields on a 10-mile chase that ended with a crash and an exchange of gunfire.
Rodriguez was killed. Fields underwent surgery at WellStar Kennestone Hospital and the prognosis was good, though it was unclear Saturday if he'd been released to go home. When asked about the trooper's condition, a Georgia State Patrol spokeswoman said only that Fields' family had requested privacy.
Fields is a three-year veteran of the state patrol and serves out of GSP Post 9. Gov. Nathan Deal visited Fields in the hospital Friday.
Deal said he knows Fields personally from the trooper's time working holiday events at the Governor's Mansion.
“Trooper Fields acted heroically in the line of duty,” Deal tweeted Friday. “We are grateful for his service and for the bravery of all [Department of Public Safety] employees.”
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