Georgia cops on leave after firing ‘at least SEVEN shots’ at car with 5 minors that police say drove at them
TWO Georgia cops are on leave after allegedly firing “at least SEVEN shots” at a car with five minors that police say drove toward them.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigations is now probing the incident that took place on Saturday morning.
Video taken by Dominique Goodman, the kids’ father, shows the grim moment the father sees 15-and 16-year-old boys on the ground, being handcuffed after the alleged incident.
He and a woman begged at the cops to let the boys go, saying “Those are children!”
“They shot at a car full of unarmed minors,” Goodman told WJXT.
“They are babies. What was the purpose of shooting?” he added.
According to The Georgia Bureau of Investigations, officers with the Waycross Police Department saw a car commit a traffic violation, and tried to get the license plate number.
Three kids – ages 9, 12, and 14 – got out of the car as it stopped.
One officer followed the three kids, and another officer approached the car as it continued to drive toward him, GBI alleged.
The officer then allegedly “fired multiple times at the vehicle,” GBI said.
As the car kept moving , the 15- and 16-year-old boys reportedly jumped out of the vehicle, investigators said.
GBI said that the 15-year-old got into an altercation with an officer, and was handcuffed.
The 16-year-old was charged with possession of a handgun, aggravated assault on a police officer, reckless driving, driving without a license and a stop sign violation, WJAX reported.
The 15-year-old was charged with possession of a handgun by a minor, removal or attempt to remove a firearm from a cop, and felony obstruction of an officer, according to WJAX.
Goodman claims, however, that police “shot at a car full of unarmed minors.”
He told WJAX he heard gunfire and saw kids come to the house, screaming for help.
The nine-year-old claimed to WJAX that “at least seven shots were fired.”
“I could have gotten shot in my face, but they shot the swing,” the child said of the moment a bullet allegedly whizzed past his head.
Video from after the incident showed one of the minors bleeding from his head, with a bandage taped to it.
A car was seen with multiple bullet holes in the side.
GBI said the 15-year-old was treated for “minor injuries.”
A petition from the family calling for the removal of officers involved in the incident claims the vehicle’s driver “was manhandled and pistol whipped in the head.”
The NAACP has called for the officers’ bodycam footage to be released immediately, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“I’m very concerned that shots were fired while children were involved,” Atlanta attorney Gerald Griggs, who serves as the vice president of the NAACP’s Atlanta chapter said.
“We’re concerned that level of force was used.”
GBI has asked anyone with information on the incident to contact GBI at (912) 389-4103 or the Waycross Police Department at (912) 287-2921.
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The Ware County District Attorney’s Office will review the incident once the GBI investigation is complete.
The incident came amid ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, following the death of George Floyd.
Demonstrators across the nation have called for an end to police brutality, as some demand a defunding of police.