Atlanta-area police officer shot responded to wrong home

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By KATE BRUMBACK

ATLANTA (AP) — Authorities say an Atlanta-area police officer was shot and critically wounded when officers responded to a call of a suspicious person and showed up at the wrong house.

DeKalb Police Chief Cedric Alexander said three officers responded Monday night. The officers entered the home from the rear, identified themselves and one of the officers was shot in the leg.

Alexander says the officer lost a lot of blood and is in critical condition at a hospital.

The homeowner was also shot in the leg and the homeowner's dog was killed.

FULL short story at link.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/04a592aa2b84479698da0471656f73b8/georgia-police-officer-shot-circumstances-unclear

[NutmegYankee]

1. It doesn't matter if the officers identified themselves:

Armed Home Invaders Identify Themselves As Police, Then Realize They Broke Into Wrong Apartment: PD

Five men burst into a female's apartment on Edgewood Street impersonating Hartford police officers and robbed her cellphone at gunpoint after possibly breaking into the wrong apartment, police said.

A female victim told police she heard banging on her back apartment door while she was home alone and she went to check it out. Then five masked and armed men burst in after forcing the door open, yelling "Hartford Police," according to police. They ordered the resident to the ground and tied her up on the floor as she cooperated, police said.

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Armed-Home-Invaders-Identify-Themselves-As-Police-Then-Realize-They-Broke-Into-Wrong-Apartment-PD-323365011.html

Too many cases lately of home invasions with the attackers yelling "Police". Sucks for the officer, but if you barge into an innocent man's home, you get what you get.

Having reviewed a few additional sites with info, I speculate that the officers entered the home by back door thinking they had the right address, were confronted by the dog, shot it, and then the homeowner likely responded to what he perceived was a deadly threat resulting in both an officer and himself being wounded.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/breaking-dekalb-county-police-officer-shot/nnT9R/
http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/14507363-story

[840high]

2. Wishing speedy recovery.

[NutmegYankee]

3. A tragic event in any case.

No matter the outcome, people are going to be traumatized - The fellow officers seeing a colleague or buddy bleeding from a nasty arterial wound, the homeowner whose injuries weren't identified, and the man's wife who had to witness her husband's injury and death of the dog. It was the wife who called 911 for help after the exchange of gunfire.

[840high]

5. Yes - for all involved.

[billhicks76]

12. They Killed A Dog

[LisaL]

15. One of the officers shot their collegue.

It was "friendly" fire.
So these cops went into wrong house, killed the dog, show the owner, and also shot one of their colleagues.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/01/us/georgia-wrong-house-shooting/

[marble falls]

4. Actual footage:

[beevul]

6. I'm not sure...

Alexander said the situation happened like this: A neighborhood resident called 911 at 7:34 p.m. to report a suspicious person and described a home to the dispatcher. Three officers responded to a house that fit the description the caller gave 911. The officers went to the back of the home and found that a screen door and a rear door were unlocked.

"That in and of itself would probably suggest to anyone that it is possible that there could be intruders inside, but it turned out not to be the case," Alexander said.

I'm not sure what to think about that.

[NutmegYankee]

8. Yeah, that bothered me as well.

I think that was an attempt to justify the actions. While locking front doors while the house is occupied is fairly common in the US, back doors are often left unlocked for multiple reasons, including having to let a dog/cat in or out. Mine is often unlocked until bed time, if I even remember to lock it prior to bed.

[madamvlb]

10. OS said the homeowners girlfriend was home...

Maybe she had just arrived and let the dog out to pee? I live in the "woods" and I do that.

[DetlefK]

7. They "identified" themselves. Sure.

I bet they kicked the door in, bursted in there, everybody screaming and yelling at the same time, guns already drawn, and the home-owner shot at the intruders in self-defence.

[magical thyme]

9. close, but they shot and killed the owner's dog first. So guns were drawn and FIRING.

to the doggie.

fuck the scum that shot the pup.

[LisaL]

16. They shot and killed the dog, shot dog's owner, and shot one of their collegues.

Friendly fire.

[LompocDem]

11. Probably close...

...gotta weigh all the verified info but the fact that a homeowners (or renters) dog was shot means that there was an attempt to protect the property. The owner and dog did their job no matter the known circumstances and considering the limited info. As a dog person I know that my dog would be protective in an invasion situation regardless of the legal circumstances.I'm a responsible gun owner but if this were to happen to me I'm not sure I'd not respond with violence towards the LEO's who busted into my domicile especially if they hurt or killed my dog in front of me. I probably would say F*&k it though, my dogs life is more important to me than most all humans when I really think about it.

[LisaL]

17. As far as I can tell homeowner haven't shot anybody.

The cop that was shot was likely shot by another cop.

"A police officer who was shot in the hip while responding to the wrong Atlanta-area home appears to have been shot by one of his colleagues, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/01/us/georgia-wrong-house-shooting/

[L0oniX]

13. Fake cop home invasions are on the rise.

Google it.

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. wouldn't be surprised if they blamed the homeowner

[Taitertots]

18. Is anyone going to ask... Why is this a mystery?

What kind of criminal bullshit happens in the Dekalb Police department that the Chief didn't ask the officers what happened?

"it's not clear if the homeowner had a gun." = he didn't have a gun. (/speculation).