A story that one Georgia cop reported about a man shooting her in a one-on-one confrontation last week was fabricated, according to officials. Jackson, Georgia, cop Sherry Hall claimed that on September 13, 2016, she saw a possibly injured black male near a small patch of woods while on patrol. In the fabricated version of her story, she claimed that she got out of her police cruiser to render assistance to the man. She claimed that after a brief verbal exchange the man shot her and then disappeared into the woods. According to her story, the bullet he fired only struck her body armor, which allegedly saved her life. Springfield News Sun reported that officials began searching for the fabricated man from Hall’s story. The cop spun the details of her story as she gave her statement.
“He had a presentation of somebody who might need medical attention, or might have been under the influence of a substance… I talked to him from a distance, and during that time we had a little bit of a confrontation, he fired a shot and then I began to return fire and take fire.”
The cop said she had trouble understanding what the fabricated man was trying to say, or why he would open fire.
“I don’t think he even knew what he was saying… Why did he shoot me? I was just trying to help him.”
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According to CBS News , the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that authorities have the necessary warrants for the cop on four different charges, including tampering with evidence and making fabricated statements with her story. James Morgan, chief of police at the Jackson police department, brought in the GBI to investigate Hall’s story. The GBI said that, in Hall’s version of the story, she did not have her patrol car’s surveillance equipment running. However, officials obtained footage from the cop car, and compared her fabricated statements with the evidence they discovered. The story did not match the facts. After days of investigation and reexamining Hall’s story, authorities concluded that a mystery man did not shoot the cop. Scott Dutton spoke for the GBI.
“There never was a suspect shooter in this case. Investigators followed the evidence in the case.”
The cop spread fear throughout Butts county and Jackson with her fabricated story that an armed black man was still running free. Kay Pippin, mayor of Jackson, Georgia, was ashamed that a police officer would falsify such claims.
“[I am] disappointed [that] anyone would contribute to such fears… For two weeks, the good people of the city of Jackson poured out their hearts in expressions of concern and support for what we believed to be a police officer – one of our own – harmed in the line of duty.”
Dutton says that the cop sought treatment.
“[Hall] checked herself into a facility and is seeking help.”
Officials have not yet determined if the cop shot herself, but the JPD’s policy on accidental shootings could result in Hall losing her job, as well as jail time. The cop currently faces several years in prison if convicted of the charges pressed by the GBI.
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Morgan assured citizens that the cop will be arrested and prosecuted for her fabricated story.
“I have been entrusted as the Chief of Police here in Jackson to enforce the law to the fullest and that means even if I have to enforce it on my own personnel… [the cop] is on paid administrative leave… she [was] with the department for about three months before [this] incident.”
Officials still do not know why the cop fabricated this story about the man who shot her. JPD now want to rebuild the city’s trust by resolving this case and issuing justice.
[Featured Image by Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images]