<p>An off-duty DeKalb County Police officer was shot and wounded by a robbery suspect Wednesday, not long after his department's new chief addressed at a rash of shootings by police in the suburban Atlanta county.</p><p>Sgt. Danny Craft, a veteran of more than 20 years, was shot about 4 p.m. after confronting two suspects fleeing a snatch-and-grab jewelry robbery as he arrived for an off-duty security job at South DeKalb Mall.</p><p>A suspect, identified by Chief Terrell Bolton as 32-year-old Anthony Lewis of Decatur, began firing at Craft and wounded him in the leg, the chief said.</p><p>Lewis and Cicely Ophelia Scott, 22, of Stone Mountain were arrested after a car chase by other officers. Charges were pending Wednesday night.</p><p>"This event today underscores the violence and the senseless, sinful acts we see out here on the street," Bolton told reporters outside DeKalb Medical Center, where Craft was in stable condition.</p><p>About an hour before the shooting, Bolton announced that federal and state authorities will now be called to the scene to monitor shootings by DeKalb officers. Last year, the county police were involved in 12 deadly shootings.</p><p>Bolton, who started last week, said his department has nothing to hide but was launching the initiative to make citizens more comfortable.</p><p>Bolton says the investigation into the shootings is his top priority, and he wants to make sure that the department is doing everything to honor life and to protect officers.</p><p>At the hospital, Bolton said police had been called to Lewis' apartment on Tuesday because he had "illegally" taken his children there.</p><p>He said authorities chose to quietly remove the children while Lewis slept rather than confront him.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cd9e64)</p>
