Troup County deputy shot while chasing dog in park

LAGRANGE, Ga. — It started out as a dog bite incident at Glass Bridge Park in LaGrange and ended with a Troup County deputy marshal being airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta with a gunshot wound to his arm.

According to information released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which was called in by the Troup County Marshal’s office to investigate, two deputy marshals responded around 1:20 p.m. Wednesday to a call of a man bitten by a pit bull while at the park. Shortly after arriving, they found the man, who had a bite on his leg.

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They began searching for the dog, finding it a short time later and shooting it with a tranquilizer dart. The dog was apparently hit, but continued running away into the woods.

The GBI says several minutes later, the marshals found the pit bull which charged at them in “a very aggressive manner.” Both marshals fired their handguns at the animal, with one of them missing the dog and striking the other marshal in the forearm. Its unclear if the dog was hit. The marshal was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital and is stable, according to a Troup County spokesperson.

“The officer is recovering well, and we are extremely grateful for the overall quick response of medical units to aid in the care of the officer. We believe that the officer will be released as early as today from Grady Hospital in Atlanta. At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the officer and their family,” said County Manager Eric Mosley.

The investigation is still ongoing and both Mosley and GBI say more information will be released once the investigation is complete.

Counties seeing increase in dog bites since beginning of COVID-19 pandemic In one metro county, officials say there has been a reported increase of 50% in cases.

Cox Media Group