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October 19, 2012

DA: Shooting by deputy appears ‘reasonable and justified’

Rachel Brown rachelbrown@daltoncitizen.com

A man officials said was shot by a Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office deputy in self-defense Wednesday night had just struck one woman with a piece of wood and hit another with a baseball bat, authorities said.

Maj. John Gibson said Roy Anthony Pangle, 35, of 5138 Mitchell Bridge Road, was recovering in stable condition at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga after Deputy Phillip Bishop shot him once in the upper torso while Pangle was trying to run over him with his pickup truck. Pangle is charged with aggravated assault with a firearm. Additional charges are pending.

District Attorney Bert Poston will be asked to review the investigation once it’s complete and determine whether to press charges against the deputy.

“I met with a representative from the (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) and was briefed on the circumstances and on the investigation that has been conducted thus far,” Poston said Thursday afternoon. “Based on their preliminary findings, it appears that the officer’s actions were reasonable and justified under the circumstances, and I have conveyed that opinion to the sheriff. We will of course review the GBI’s final report once it is completed.”

Bishop is on leave with pay pending the GBI’s findings.

Gibson said Bishop and Deputy Ben Dyer responded to a call about a domestic disturbance in which Pangle allegedly forced his way into a home at 4770 Mitchell Bridge Road where the two women were sheltering his wife. Gibson said Pangle hasn’t been accused of assaulting his wife, but the two were in some kind of domestic dispute and she wanted to get away from him.

“He was attacking the ladies there that were basically protecting his wife,” Gibson said.

Gibson said someone called 911, and when Pangle heard the authorities were en route, he began driving away.

“He was firing a handgun as he was fleeing to get back to his house,” Gibson said. “People could see the muzzle flash coming out the window where he was discharging a firearm.”

Gibson did not know on Thursday whether Pangle was shooting at a particular person, but he said no one was hit.

The officers tracked him down at his house, officials said, but Pangle refused orders to get out of the pickup and instead started driving toward the officers in a wooded area and behind houses, eventually getting the two officers penned up against the tree line. Officials said Bishop fired at Pangle to stop him, hitting him in the torso. Dyer’s arm was cut on some broken glass as he worked to get the suspect out of the truck, Gibson said.

Gibson said investigators suspect Pangle was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but they are awaiting the results of a toxicology report for confirmation.

Gibson said it is standard procedure to involve the GBI when an officer shoots someone. He said he expects the final investigation will show Bishop acted appropriately.

 

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