Code enforcement officer shot www.privateofficer.com
Posted by privateofficernews on April 26, 2008
Code enforcement officer shot www.privateofficer.com
A few police cars, orange spray-painted markings of where three tow trucks riddled with bullets had been parked and a nearby elementary school absent of children Thursday were the somber reminders of the shooting of a Warner Robins code enforcement officer the previous day.
John Thomas Adcock, 54, of 204 Ward St., remained hospitalized at The Medical Center of Central Georgia after special tactical officers found him “lethargic” inside his home nearly 10 hours after he opened fire on two code enforcement officers and three tow-truck drivers, said Warner Robins police Sgt. Chris Rooks.
Code enforcement officer Beau Weathers, 29, who suffered gunshot wounds to the right side of his body and to his face, was in stable condition at the same Macon hospital. His injuries are expected to require several surgeries, authorities and family members said.
“He’s sore but he’s going to be fine,” Rooks said of Weathers, who has been with the city’s code enforcement office since 2004.
Authorities are investigating just what prompted Adcock, a widower, to take such “extreme” action Wednesday afternoon after two code enforcement officers and three wrecker drivers and their trucks arrived to remove the junk vehicles, Rooks said.
The code enforcement officers had been working with Adcock to take corrective action, but were finally forced to tow the vehicles when he took no action to come into compliance after a 15-day waiting period.
“You would think someone towing your car away would not get you upset enough to come out shooting at officers,” Rooks said.
Not much is known about Adcock, with police having had no prior dealings with him before the shooting began at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Rooks said. Authorities hope to develop a biographical sketch and are looking into his medical and mental background for clues behind the shooting, the detective said.
Arrest warrants have been signed but will not be formally served on Adcock until his release from the hospital, Rooks said.
The code enforcement officers had been at Adcock’s home for about 15 minutes when he suddenly came out of his home and opened fire with a shotgun, wounding Weathers, Rooks said. The code enforcement officers and tow-truck drivers took refuge behind the three large tow trucks, which were riddled with bullets, the investigator said.
Adcock then went back inside and returned with a rifle, again opening fire, Rooks said. Capps did not return fire.
Multiple shots were heard, but just how many rang out will take some time to determine as crime scene investigators scour the property and collect shell casings and count bullet holes, Rooks said.
A standoff with police ensued throughout the afternoon and into the late hours of Wednesday night. Special tactical officers from the Warner Robins police and Houston County sheriff’s agencies eventually used a ram to knock open a door of the home about 11:40 p.m. Attempts to enter with a robot had failed a few minutes earlier.
An unresponsive Adcock was found in a chair in the front of the house and was transported to the Macon hospital, Rooks said.
Authorities were able to wait out Adcock and enter without firing a shot, police said. The last communication with Adcock before the tactical team went in was between 6 and 6:30 p.m.
Earlier, when the call of “officer down” first went out over the police radio, law enforcement officers from Warner Robins, Houston County, Centerville, Perry and the Georgia State Patrol converged quickly and in force on the residential community, Rooks said.
Later, robots were brought in by the GBI and the U.S. Department of Defense.
“It was kind of moving,” Rooks said of the unfolding scene. “You have that many agencies responding that quickly to an officer down.”
Adcock’s home is two houses down on Ward Street from the intersection of Ward Street and North Avenue, across from Lindsey Elementary School.
Authorities quickly worked with school officials Wednesday afternoon to evacuate children by buses to churches about a mile away where parents could pick them up.
Parents were kept abreast of the emergency and given instructions through the school system’s voice automated system. The school remained closed Thursday, but classes were to resume today.
Neighborhood residents within a 100-yard radius of Adcock’s home were evacuated. Residents were allowed to return to their homes early Thursday morning.
The junk cars at the center of the dispute still were sitting on the property while police continued to collect evidence from the crime scene Thursday.
Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com
Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews
Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com
Lt Barbara Tabor, Assistant Fire Marshal said
Being in Code Enforcement myself brings it close to home. We have been very lucky in Norfolk , Virginia that nothing like that has never happened to us. My thoughts & prayers goes out to the the families involved in this incident.