Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch released a public statement Friday afternoon, praising the efforts of the three deputies who were involved in a deadly shooting incident with a suspect they encountered at a local mobile home community.
In the statement, Couch called the confrontation with the armed man "arguably the most stressful task a law enforcement officer will ever face." Couch asked the community for support of all law enforcement "who quite literally put their lives on the line out there every day." The three deputies involved in Thursday's incident remain on paid administrative leave while the investigation into the deadly shooting continues.
The incident unfolded Thursday morning around 6:30 when a 911 caller reported a suspicious man walking around the homes at the Ridgeway Mobile Home Park off Skelton Road.
When deputies arrived, they encountered Joseph Villanueva, 29, from California. So far, the investigation indicates Villanueva ran from the officers and then turned and fired on them. The officers returned fire, striking the suspect several times; he died at the scene.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation.
The full content of Sheriff Couch's letter to the public is posted below:
Yesterday morning, three of our Deputies were involved in what is arguably the most stressful task a law enforcement officer will ever face: confronting and engaging an armed attacker. Some officers serve an entire career without having to face such an encounter; for others, it happens early on. The Deputies involved in yesterday’s incident ranged all the way from seasoned veteran to new patrolman. While the loss of life - even that of an openly aggressive, armed attacker who was already wanted for committing serious crimes - is never something that we seek out or in which we take pleasure, I’m proud to say that not only did our Deputies prevail, but they did so without being harmed and without any harm coming to innocent parties.
As Sheriff, I have many responsibilities to the community and my staff, not the least of which is to help the public understand the part we play in society. As Peace Officers, we fulfill two main roles: we serve and we protect. Everyone knows this; it is the underlying mantra of all law enforcement agencies. With that in mind, I want our community to know and understand just how vastly different those two roles can be and how rapidly my Deputies can be called upon to transition from one to the other.
In the hours leading up to yesterday’s shooting, Deputies logged calls ranging from quiet business checks and roadway hazards to fraud reports...and then just before 7 AM, at the end of a long night shift while most people enjoyed a cup of coffee on a quiet Thursday morning, those Deputies were faced with danger in the highest extreme. They were forced to take another human’s life.
I ask a lot from the public. I ask for your support, and I ask for your tax dollars. I take neither of those lightly, and I know you have expectations of service in exchange for those things. My wish is simply for our citizens to fully understand that we also ask a lot from our Deputies. While their pay reflects more the things they are usually called upon to do (business checks, road hazards, fraud reports) versus the things they might be called upon to do (defend their own lives by taking another), they do it all without hesitation. I’m grateful first and foremost for their safety, but also for their dedication to duty and their performance under dire circumstances. I ask that our community continue to support the men and women who quite literally put their lives on the line out there every day.
Sincerely,
Gerald Couch, Sheriff
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch
http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/6/682334/sheriff-praises-actions-of-deputies-involved-in-deadly-hall-county-shooting-incident