ALPHARETTA, Ga. — An Alpharetta police officer is facing charges after a boating accident on Lake Lanier that severely injured a man.
Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik confirmed the Department of Natural Resources booked Christopher James Harrison into the Forsyth County Jail Saturday on boating under the influence charges.
DNR spokesman Mark McKinnon told Petchenik the incident happened just after 6 p.m. Saturday in the Young Deer Creek area of Lake Lanier. %
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McKinnon said additional charges could be forthcoming for Harrison after an investigation was completed. McKinnon said it could take six weeks to several months to finalize the results of that investigation.
Petchenik confirmed the victim is Josh Akins. A GoFundMe page set up by friends said Akins’ right leg was 90 % severed and his ankle broken when he was sucked back under the boat when the engine shifted into reverse as he tried to get out of the water.
The page said friends pulled him to safety and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, and that Akins is a former police officer and military veteran.
Petchenik has confirmed Harrison is employed as a patrol officer by the city of Alpharetta. The department emailed him the following statement from Chief Gary D. George:
"The Alpharetta Department of Public Safety has been notified by law enforcement authorities with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that an Alpharetta police officer who is on active military duty was involved in a boating accident which resulted in serious injury. A charge of BUI was levied against our employee by law enforcement officers with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The employee charged has been absent from the department on military leave since March 23rd, 2016 and remains under military jurisdiction. Since the incident occurred while our employee was under military control we must defer comment at this time. However, per our standard procedure, the City of Alpharetta and specifically the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety will undertake an internal affairs investigation into the matter to determine if any city or departmental policies have been violated, and we will monitor the case as it pertains to the charges filed by the DNR."
Forsyth County sheriff’s deputies told Petchenik Harrison posted a $2,700 bond and is now out of jail
Petchenik went to Harrison’s Cumming home Tuesday for comment. The garage was open, but nobody came to the door. He later saw a man in military fatigues show up to the home and go inside. The person said he was not Harrison, nor was he there to see Harrison.