ATLANTA (TIP): A 38-year-old Indian American police officer was critically injured after a person fired at him and fled the scene while he was responding to a domestic dispute in the US state of Georgia, according to media reports on Monday, November 8. Investigators in Georgia and NBA (National Basketball Association) Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal have offered a USD 30,000 reward for any information on the suspect who shot and wounded Paramhans Desai last week, abcnews.com reported.
Henry County Police Officer Desai was responding to a domestic disturbance on Thursday, November 4, and was attempting to make an arrest when Jordan Jackson, 22, of McDonough, Georgia, allegedly shot at him and fled the scene in a car, the report said, quoting a statement issued by the Henry County Police Department.
Desai was taken to Grady Medical Centre and was listed in critical, but stable condition on Sunday, police said.
Desai is married and has two children. He has been with the Henry County Police department for two years and previously worked for the Georgia Department of Corrections and DeKalb County Police, the report said, quoting police. According to local news portal fox5atlanta.com, officer Desai, a 17-year law enforcement veteran, was shot by Jackson while responding to a 911 call on Keys Ferry Road.
Police announced a USD 30,000 reward leading to the successful arrest and indictment of Jackson. Henry County Sheriff’s Office and the US Marshall’s Service each put up USD 10,000 and Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta and O’Neal, who took a role with the sheriff’s office as director of community relations earlier this year, each contributing USD 5,000, the report said. In 2019, Indian-American Sikh police officer Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, who was in his early 40s, was shot multiple times from behind and killed in “ruthless, cold-blooded way” during a traffic stop in Texas. Dhaliwal was married and a father to three children.