GBI investigating second officer-involved shooting of 2022 in Calhoun, Georgia

A Calhoun Police Department vehicle is shown in this file photo. / Staff file photo
A Calhoun Police Department vehicle is shown in this file photo. / Staff file photo

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the shooting of a man by an officer that took place early Thursday in Calhoun, Georgia.

According to a news release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, officers with the Calhoun Police Department responded to reports of a burglary on the 120 block of Adairs Street in Calhoun around 3:45 a.m. They were told the burglar was armed and carrying a knife. Upon arrival, officers found 37-year-old Jose Brito Lopez of Calhoun inside the residence, according to the release.

(READ MORE: GBI investigating officer-involved shooting in Dade County)

"Lopez failed to comply with the officers' commands to show them his hands and he continued to advance toward the officers," the release said. "One of the officers tased Lopez, but the Taser was ineffective, and Lopez continued to advance towards the officers."

One of the officers he was advancing toward at the scene shot him, resulting in Lopez's death, the release stated. None of the occupants of the home were injured.

The GBI will conduct its own independent investigation into what happened. Once complete, it will be turned over to the Gordon County District Attorney's Office for review, according to the release

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This is the second officer-involved shooting the GBI has been requested to investigate in 2022. The first was reported Monday in Dade County, Georgia, after a man driving a stolen car allegedly attempted to run over an officer.

The driver, Ethan Wayne Rogers, 32, of Fort Payne, Alabama, has been charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer and theft by bringing stolen property into the state.

There were two passengers in the vehicle with Rogers. One, a female, was arrested on outstanding warrants, while the other male in the car was released without incident.

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There were 100 officer-involved shootings reported in the state in 2021, according to data published on the GBI's website.

Contact Kelcey Caulder at 423-757-6327 or kcaulder@timesfreepress.com.

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