Ga. cop shot below vest; manhunt underway
By Joshua Brown
The Albany Herald ALBANY, Ga. — Police Tuesday began searching for a man they consider to be armed and dangerous after he shot an Albany police officer earlier in the morning. Albany Police Chief James Younger described the suspect during a midmorning news conference as being a young black man with dreadlocks, about 5-feet-6-inches to 5-feet-8-inches and of medium build. Younger said the man is considered armed and dangerous. APD patrolman Timothy Harvey, a five-year APD veteran, spotted the man riding a bicycle near Eighth Avenue and Davis Street about 3 a.m. Tuesday, Younger said. Harvey confronted the man, who then fled and shot Harvey once below his bullet-proof vest. “As you are aware by now, this morning about five minutes before 3, Officer Timothy Harvey was patrolling near Eighth and Davis and came upon a suspicious subject on a bicycle,” Younger said. “He confronted that subject. The subject ran and at some point turned back and shot Officer Harvey.” The man left the bicycle, which is being checked for prints, behind an Eighth Avenue home and fled on foot from there. Harvey did not fire back at the suspect and was able to radio that he had been injured. He underwent surgery at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and was recovering Tuesday, Younger said. Harvey was listed in fair condition Tuesday, Phoebe spokeswoman Valerie Benton said. Younger said he was “cautiously optimistic” about Harvey’s recovery. Several agencies were called in or offered to help in the search for the assailant, including the Dougherty County Police Department, Georgia State Patrol, Albany State University Police, Lee State Prison K-9 unit and others, Younger said. Tuesday’s news conference in a room at the Albany Police Department was filled with law enforcement officers and members of the media. Anyone with any information about the suspect can call the APD at (229) 436-TIPS or 911. “At this point we’re making a request to outreach to the public for assistance,” Younger said. He declined to say what area of the city police were focusing their search on Tuesday morning. As the day progressed, so did police activity. According to APD spokesperson Phyllis Banks, no tip or lead phoned into police went unanswered, a sentiment echoed through the police radio airwaves and police reports. According to police reports, a tip from a confidential informant pointed police to a neighborhood on Society Avenue. According to a report filed with the APD, the informant told police that rumors had been circulating Tuesday morning that a man known as “Ant” may have been involved in the shooting. The informant wasn’t sure of the possible suspect’s real name or address, but said that he is known to “hang out in the CME (Rattler) area,” near Society Avenue. Another tip came from a woman who was waiting behind a Krystal restaurant who told dispatchers that she had information about the shooting, but that she wanted to speak directly to a police officer in an unmarked police car. Despite the tips, no arrests had been made as of press time, Banks said. Copyright 2008 The Albany Herald
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