Woman says it took 2 days for info on dad shot by cop

LILBURN, Ga. — The daughter of an alleged shoplifter shot by a police officer said it took too long to get information about her 62-year-old father's condition.

Louis Grady Richardson is recovering at Gwinnett Medical Center after being shot by an officer inside a Lilburn Family Dollar store on Lawrenceville Highway. Channel 2 Action News reported the shooting as breaking news Monday afternoon. Police said Richardson was caught stealing a frozen pizza and a struggle involving an officer occured after police arrived.

His daughter, Adrienne Lindesay, said she went to the Lilburn Police Department to report him missing around 8 p.m., hours after he left home to walk the dog.

Lindesay said she went to Gwinnett Medical Center to check on Richardson but workers said they could not release any information because he is in law enforcement's custody at the hospital. Lindesay also contacted Gwinnett County sheriff's authorities, who said they couldn't release any details because Richardson was not yet in jail. On Wednesday, two days after the incident, Lindesay went back to the hospital demanding information, and finally got results.

Authorities allowed her to visit Richardson, recovering after surgery to his chin and arm.

Prior to seeing him, Lindesay said she spent 48 hours crying and praying to know about her dad's status.

"He has a family that loves him and we want to know what's going on with my dad," she said of Richardson, who moved from Massachusetts less than a year ago.

Meanwhile, Lindesay said that she is shocked by the allegations against her father and that she doesn't know him to be a confrontational man.  But on Monday afternoon, Gwinnett County Police said the officer who was sent to the Family Dollar incident store shot Richardson twice in self-defense during a struggle.

"The officer then took the suspect out and pulled his city-issued Taser out and was going to stun the suspect when the suspect took the officer's Taser from him, started to point the Taser toward the officer," said Lilburn Police Chief Bruce Hedley.

Lindesay apologized to those impacted by the ordeal.

"I would like to apologize on his behalf to Family Dollar and the employees and what those families are going through as well," Lindesay said. "He's a good person, a family man, he has children who love him, a family who loves and cares about him."

WSBTV