Police in Waycross, Georgia, were accused by a local father of shooting at a group of five unarmed minors. However, authorities allege that the officer fired toward a vehicle that was driving toward him after three minors had already exited it and two remained inside.
“On Saturday, August 8, 2020, the GBI was requested by the Waycross Police Department to investigate an officer involved shooting,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigation wrote in a news release. No one was injured.
Dominique Goodman Sr., the father of all five children, told WBTV that “multiple shots were fired at his three youngest children, ages 9 to 14, before he had to plead with the officers not to shoot his older sons.”
“Those are children, man. They’re minors, man….This is what you’re all shooting at. Some babies, yall,” Goodman said in a Facebook video that has been viewed more than 300,000 times. You can watch the video by Goodman below. Be aware that it contains profanity.
According to WBTV, Sincere Goodman, 9, says “at least seven shots were fired, and one bullet whizzed by his head.” The television station quoted the child as saying, “It went past my face. I could’ve gotten shot in my face, but they shot the swing.”
Here’s what you need to know:
State Investigators Say an Officer Fired Multiple Times at a Vehicle After It ‘Drove Towards Him’
Georgia state investigators say the shooting incident started with a traffic stop.
“Preliminary information indicates that on Saturday, August 8, 2020, at approximately 8:00 a.m, an officer with the Waycross Police Department observed a traffic violation at the intersection of Howe and Brunell Street,” they wrote in the news release.
“The officer attempted to obtain the license plate information. As the vehicle approached the area of Walters and Greenwood Street, three minors (ages 9, 12, and 14) exited the vehicle and ran off while the vehicle stopped. A second officer responded to assist while the first officer followed the three minors in his vehicle.”
As the second officer began to approach the vehicle from the front, “the vehicle drove towards him,” GBI wrote.
“The officer fired multiple times at the vehicle. Two male minors (ages 15 and 16) exited the vehicle while it was still in drive. The vehicle came to a stop further up the road. There was an altercation between the second officer and the 15-year-old male that had exited the vehicle. The minor was eventually secured in handcuffs. He was treated by EMS for minor injuries from the altercation. The first responding officer came back to the initial scene of the traffic stop after hearing gunshots. The three minors went home. No officers were injured during the incident.
The GBI wrote that it “will continue its independent investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI at (912) 389-4103 or the Waycross Police Department at (912) 287-2921. Once the investigation is complete, it will be turned over to the Ware County District Attorney’s Office for review.”
Goodman Repeatedly Accused the Police of Shooting at the Minors, Saying They Were Just Trying to Go to a Football Game
FacebookOne of the teens with an injured face in the father’s video.
Goodman starts out the video by saying, “Man. Waycross, Georgia. The police chasing a 9 year old, man. The police shooting at a 12 year old girl and 9 year old on the way to a football game. Shooting at my mother f*cking kids, bro. They shot at a motherf*cking 9 year old and 12 year old, bro. What kind of f*ck a*s shit is that. They’re chasing my kids… they pistol whipped one.”
He alleged that the “whole neighborhood witnessed.” He claimed it was a “car full of unarmed kids.”
At one point in the video, Goodman trained it on a teenager who was sitting in a police car. “Got my baby back here bleeding man, 15 years old that’s what the police do to a 15 year old,” he said. “…This man bleeding out of his f*cking face.”
He said the “whole neighborhood woke up from gunshots.” You can here kids crying toward the end of the video.
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