HOMEWOOD, Ala. (AP) - An investigation is underway after an officer-involved shooting in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, left a suspect dead and a Homewood officer with minor injuries.
Homewood Police Sgt. John Carr tells Al.com the officer “was forced to defend himself” about 1 a.m. on Saturday after the two got into a struggle and the officer was shocked with his own stun gun at a hotel in Homewood.
Carr said the incident began when the officer stopped to speak with a man he saw while patrolling the parking lot of the hotel. The suspect “got into a struggle with the officer,” he said.
During the struggle, the suspect was able to grab the officer’s Taser and use it on the officer. The officer then shot the suspect, Carr said.
Senior Trooper Chuck Daniel said details on what led to the shooting have not been released.
The suspect was transported to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The officer suffered minor injuries, he said, and was treated and released from Brookwood Medical Center.
The deceased man’s name, age and hometown were being withheld pending notification of relatives.
Agents with the State Bureau of Investigation, at the request of Homewood Police and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, opened an investigation but have provided few details about the shooting.
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