1 officer killed, 3 shot during tough week for metro Atlanta law enforcement

“It’s been a rough week,” police Chief Keith Meadows said. “Things can change in an instant, and certainly, we’re praying for Lt. Cook in his full recovery.”

On Friday, the Georgia State Patrol said the driver accused of hitting Garcia’s patrol vehicle had been charged with murder. Santoria McLean, 31, was also charged with homicide by vehicle in the first degree, fleeing and attempting to elude, reckless driving and disobeying a traffic control device, according to a spokesperson for the state patrol.

Investigators have said Garcia was driving his patrol vehicle on Flat Shoals Road near Hidden Brook Trail when McLean veered into his lane and struck him. Both drivers were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, but Garcia did not survive.

McLean was charged while in the hospital. She had not yet been booked into the Fulton County jail late Friday.

Garcia was remembered by his colleagues as being devoted to his family. He is survived by his wife, three children, his parents and two brothers, his obituary states.

Credit: South Fulton police

Credit: South Fulton police

“Helio was not only my husband — he was the love of my life and the steady heart of our family,” Eliana Garcia said in the obituary. “Helio lived his life with integrity, strength and an infectious kindness that touched everyone he met. Our hearts are broken by this loss, but we find comfort in the love he gave us and the memories we will carry with us forever. His legacy lives on in each of us.”

Visitation will be held on Monday, April 21, from 10 a.m. to noon at World Changers Church International in College Park, followed by the funeral at 1 p.m. at the church that will be livestreamed, police said. Garcia will be laid to rest beside a son in Miami at a later date.

Two days after Garcia’s death, a Paulding County deputy was shot after responding to a welfare check, according to investigators.

Gov. Brian Kemp ordered U.S. and Georgia flags at the state Capitol and in Fulton County be flown at half-staff Monday in honor of Garcia.

Deputy Brice Mattick was responding to the call just before 7 a.m. at a house on Hemlock Glen in the Brooke Valley neighborhood when 22-year-old Jameel Johnson fired shots, according to Jordan Yuodis, a sheriff’s office spokesperson. Deputies returned fire, killing Johnson.

Mattick, 24, was shot in the shoulder and taken to a local hospital for treatment. He was released later that evening, the sheriff’s office said.

The GBI is investigating the shooting.

On Friday, two more officers — one from Fulton and the other from South Fulton — were shot by a man in an incident that began on Fulton Industrial Boulevard, according to investigators.

The incident began at 11:40 a.m., when a Fulton officer made contact with a man standing on a median in the middle of Fulton Industrial, the GBI said Friday night. A South Fulton officer arrived on the scene to assist.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News/Fulton County Government

Credit: Channel 2 Action News/Fulton County Government

When they determined the man had an outstanding warrant they attempted to arrest him, investigators said. That’s when the man, later identified as Rashan Jarvis Cofield, 29, of Atlanta, pulled out a pistol and began firing at officers while running away.

South Fulton Lt. Charles Cook was struck “at least three times” and collapsed, police said. Fulton Officer Zahir Muid returned fire.

“Officer Muid then returned to the scene and immediately rendered life-saving aid to Lt. Cook by applying a tourniquet and administering other critical first aid measures,” Fulton police said in a social media post.

Both Cook and Muid were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where Cook remained in critical condition late Friday.

Muid, who joined the department in December, was treated and released from the hospital Friday afternoon.

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