Forest Park Police ID 2 Cops Shot Responding To Reckless Driver

FOREST PARK, GA — Police have identified the two officers were shot in Forest Park on Wednesday while responding to a report of a reckless motorcyclist. Officer Demarkus Hutcherson was shot in the leg and Officer Tim Sterrett was shot in the neck, police confirmed in a Facebook message. Sterrett was in the intensive care unit and after undergoing surgery. Hutcherson was expected to recover.

The officers were shot trying to contact a motorcyclist who was allegedly operating the vehicle recklessly, police said in a release posted to the department's Facebook page. The officers responded around 10:45 a.m. to the 4700 block of Mitchell Street and tried to make contact with him, but he took off on foot, police said.

Officers followed the man behind a house and as they turned the corner a shootout erupted. Both officers were shot.

One officer was critically hurt, police said. The other is expected to survive. Other responding officers were able to pull the injured officers to safety and establish a perimeter to search for the shooter. They were taken to hospitals.

James Jacob Bailey, 30, was found dead behind the home where the shooting happened, police said. It wasn't immediately clear how he died.

The state Bureau of Investigation was investigating and planned to perform an autopsy.

Both officers had been with the agency for about two years.

Photo credit: Forest Park Police Facebook page