Officer Sherry Hall charged with making up a story about being shot by a suspect has been fired, the Jackson police chief said Saturday.
Officer Sherry Hall previously claimed that she approached a black man on September 13, only three months into her new job, when things quickly went south. As she questioned the man, things became hostile and he pulled out a gun and shot her in the abdomen before successfully fleeing the scene. Authorities said that if it weren’t for her bulletproof vest, she would have been critically injured.
On Friday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations ended their 10-day probe into the shooting and announced that they believe Officer Hall has been lying about the incident. They stopped short of suggesting that she shot herself.
“The investigation has revealed that there is no, and never was, a suspect at large in Jackson, Georgia,” GBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Wooten said at a press conference.
She’s been charged with four felonies including giving false statements, concealing facts, evidence tampering and more.
“Cops are humans and they make mistakes, but this is not a mistake,” Butts County Sheriff Gary Long said at the announcement. “This is criminal.”
Jackson Police Chief James Morgan thanked the citizens of the community after the announcement and stopped short of suggesting that she shot herself.
The investigation and charges come amid rising tensions between police and black communities in the states. And plays into the public’s concerns that police can and will lie.
“For two weeks, our citizens have been made to fear that a shooter was loose in our community,” Jackson Mayor Kay Pippin told reporters.
Laura F. Nixon
‘OH WHAT A TANGLE WEB WE WEAVE, WHEN WE PRACTICE TO DECEIVE. DID SHE THINK OR WAS AT LEAST HOPEFUL BLACK MEN WOULD BECOME RANDOM TARGETS OF POLICE BRUTATILITY? THE SADNESS OF HER MOTIVE(S) IS AN INBRED HATE OF SO MANY LIKE HER IN THESE U. S. OF A.