GA State Trooper 1st Class Chadwick LeCroy Shot & Killed Following Chase, Unidentified Suspect in Custody

Georgia state Trooper First Class Chadwick LeCroy shot and killed in Marietta following chase, suspect, Gregory Favors, apprehended after leaving scene in trooper's patrol car.

Another law enforcement officer has lost his life chasing a criminal. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Trooper First Class Chadwick LeCroy, 38, of Marietta was shot and killed in the line of duty late Monday night. LeCroy was the first trooper to be killed by gunfire since 1975, and the 27th trooper killed in the line of duty since the GSP was organized in 1937, according to the AJC.

Trooper First Class Chadwick LeCroy, 38, of Marietta was shot twice in the face by a suspect he had tried to pull over, the GSP said. Atlanta and Cobb County police arrested the suspect shortly after the shooting.

The incident began shortly after 11 p.m. when LeCroy tried to pull over a 2007 Mazda, on Bolton Road near James Jackson Parkway, for having a broken headlight, the GSP said. After a brief pursuit, the Mazda crashed at St. Paul Avenue and Hightower Road.

LeCroy approached the Mazda, and at some point the driver opened fire, GSP spokesman Gordy Wright told WSB Radio, adding it is unclear whether any struggle preceded the shooting. Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

The officer died en route to Grady Memorial Hospital. The suspect, who was eventually arrested, reportedly drove off in the trooper's patrol car after the shooting. The nerve. LeCroy is survived by a wife and two children, ages eight and 21. This is a tragedy and I am sure the prosecutor will seek the death penalty in this unspeakable act. I'm pretty sure the thug who shot LeCroy has a long rap sheet. We'll hear soon enough.  In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. LeCroy.

UPDATE#1:  The suspect has been named Gregory Favors, who is black. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Vernon Keenan, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, said Favors was served with arrest warrants for murder and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer almost 16 hours after Trooper First Class Chadwick LeCroy was shot and killed around 11 p.m. Monday.  Why am I not surprised this thug has a lengthy criminal record? Keenan said Favors had been arrested 19 times and many of those were on felony charges, according to the AJC.

UPDATE#2: Gregory Favors was released from prison two weeks ago and just couldn't even fathom living like a decent person. He had to break the law. This man cannot be rehabilitated and he should not have been released from prison.

Ten of those 19 arrests have come in the last four years, with charges including heroin trafficking, possessing a firearm while committing a felony, fleeing police and prowling. Favors was last detained Dec. 11, charged with cocaine possession and obstructing a law enforcement officer. He was released on bond three days later.  Source: AJC

The judge who let this scumbag out of prison should be kicked off the bench. Gregory Favors isn't the only habitual criminal given a slap on the wrist for repeat offenses that should have kept them behind bars. I am all for giving someone a second chance after one offense that doesn't involve murder, rape or child molestation, but the line should have been long drawn in this case. Gregory Favors should have received a lengthy prison sentence after the second offense. Not after the 19th. It is clear that the justice system is in terrible disarray if a POS like this could be released on bond three days after being charged with a serious crime.