Officers arrive at wrong location, shoot man in neck, GBI says

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Henry County Police Department are investigating an officer-involved shooting on the 600 block of Swan Lake Road.

Police responded Tuesday night to a 911 call in which the caller reported hearing gunshots and an unknown female yelling for help. The caller couldn’t give them an exact address.

Three officers were sent to the location and ended up at David Powell’s home just after 11 p.m. The GBI says the 911 call indicates that the officers were at the wrong location.

Officers were met by Powell, who was armed with a handgun. They say the 63-year-old ignored verbal commands to drop the weapon and that’s when they opened fire.

Powell’s family tells a different story. They say the officers never announced themselves, so Powell didn’t realize it was the police.

“Why would an officer shine a flashlight in their bedroom window?” Powell’s brother-in-law, Clifton Worn, said.

Worn says Powell thought an intruder was outside, so he grabbed his gun, opened his garage door and that’s when officers shot him.

“That’s what woke me up, but I only heard two,” he said. “The shots were fired or something happened and David hollered, ‘Call 911.’”

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Worn was in his mother’s house, which is on the same property as Powell’s home, when he heard the shots.

Worn looked outside and saw Powell lying in the driveway.

Powell was shot in the neck and the bullet never came out. He is in critical condition.

The officer who fired the shot in on paid administrative leave.

The GBI says Powell never fired his weapon.

The family wants to know why police searched the inside of the home if the shooting happened outside. The GBI says the inside of the home is also a part of the investigation.

“I have a lot of respect for the police officers but I just think they are trying to cover something up,” Worn said.

Cox Media Group