Mother-in-law arrested in officer-involved shooting

Dorothy Marie Gass, 65, faces a charge of falsely reporting a crime. She told the GBI she dialed 911 on Jan. 1 after her daughter in law called her, threatening to kill her own children. The GBI found no record of that call, and deputies later killed an armed man upon responding to the supposed threat.
Dorothy Marie Gass, 65, faces a charge of falsely reporting a crime. She told the GBI she dialed 911 on Jan. 1 after her daughter in law called her, threatening to kill her own children. The GBI found no record of that call, and deputies later killed an armed man upon responding to the supposed threat.
photo Dorothy Marie Gass, 65, faces a charge of falsely reporting a crime. She told the GBI she dialed 911 on Jan. 1 after her daughter in law called her, threatening to kill her own children. The GBI found no record of that call, and deputies later killed an armed man upon responding to the supposed threat.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation charged a woman Friday with false report of a crime because her 911 call led to a fatal shooting.

Dorothy Marie Gass, 65, told a dispatcher at 3:15 a.m. on Jan. 1 that her daughter-in-law was threatening to kill her children and herself, according to a GBI release. Deputies then drove to the 140 block of Meadowview Drive in Rossville, where the daughter-in-law, Amy Gass, lived.

There, according to the release, deputies found Amy Gass' father, Mark Steven Parkinson, with a handgun. Parkinson's wife later told News Channel 9 the dogs began to bark when the patrol cars pulled up. Parkinson had gone downstairs to check on the commotion.

Deputies say he then pointed the gun at them, and Deputy John Chandler shot and killed Parkinson. According to the release, investigators later determined that Dorothy Gass did not actually hear any threats from her daughter-in-law.

GBI Special Agent in Charge Greg Ramey told the Times Free Press that Dorothy Gass said Amy Gass called her, claiming she was going to kill the children and harm herself. Dorothy Gass told investigators she then dialed 911. But Ramey said investigators have not found any record of Amy Gass calling Dorothy Gass that morning.

Amy Gass and her husband, Steven Gass, are in the midst of a divorce and custody dispute. After the shooting, Steven Gass said his estranged wife is a caring mother who would never hurt the children. He said he didn't believe his mother's claims about receiving threats.

Steven Gass also said his mother suffers from dementia, possibly explaining her 911 call. He did not return a call seeking comment on the arrest Friday.

Asked whether investigators found this to be true, Ramey said Friday, "I'm not saying that we've refuted it, but the call remains. Investigation revealed she made the phone call. We know that she's responsible for the phone call."

After her arrest, according to the GBI, Dorothy Gass was released from jail on her own recognizance.

Steven Fuller, an attorney representing Parkinson's family, said they were happy to learn police have charged Dorothy Gass. They plan to file a civil lawsuit concerning the circumstances of the case, but they will wait for the criminal investigation to wrap up.

Fuller believes state legislators should look into the behavior of SWAT teams.

"I've never seen anything like this," he said. "It's just a really bad situation And it's going to take a lot of time. And it's just the beginning. Ms. Glass is charged with a misdemeanor. Somebody's dead. That's got to be changed."

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.

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