Atlanta

GBI director: Agency could be stretched thin over shootings involving officers

By Aaron Diamant
By Aaron Diamant

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Every time an officer shoots at someone, police departments call in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The director of the GBI told Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant that if calls to sort out police shootings keep coming in, the agency's resources will be stretched too thin.

In 2016, the GBI was called in to investigate 84 shootings. In 2017, they were called in to 97 shootings, and in 2018, they investigated another 90.

[INTERACTIVE MAP: Shootings involving Georgia law enforcement for 2019]

So far in 2019, the agency has 24 active investigations.

GBI Director Vic Reynolds told Diamant on Wednesday that he's proud that departments across the state trust his agents but warned the investigations could start stretching his resources thin.

“The first thing I do is literally hope and pray that nobody’s been injured,” Reynolds said.

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Often, by the time Reynolds finishes that prayer, a team of his agents and crime scene technicians are already rolling up to where police have fired their guns on the job.

“It’s difficult,” Reynolds said. “We’re pouring a lot of man-hours, a lot of time for these agents to work these cases. Right now, we’re handling it.”

But Reynolds admits he may not have the manpower to keep up if the pace picks up any more.

“We may be at a point down the road where I take a look and say, ‘You know, we may have to go back to the Legislature and say we need more folks, we need more agents to work other cases,’” Reynolds said.

Just last week, the GBI got called to three police shootings on the same day: one in the city of Atlanta, one in DeKalb County and one in McIntosh County on the Georgia coast.

While investigating the actions of so many fellow cops can be tough on agents, Reynolds said, "In the end, (what) we’ve told our agents and our agents believe is, the evidence takes (us) where it takes us.”

The GBI is also still working through several cases from last year in addition to the 23 new ones this year.

Reynolds told Diamant that, in general, his agents try to get those investigations done within 60 to 90 days and send their reports to local district attorneys for decisions on charges.

Cox Media Group

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