The Associated Press
Officer Down: Officer Al Suarez
BOSTON, Ga. — A south Georgia police officer was killed in what is believed to be an accidental shooting by another officer.
Officer Al Suarez was pronounced dead at 7:19 p.m. Friday at the Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville.
Suarez and a couple of other officers were at the police station when the shooting happened.
“One officer was cleaning his weapon. After he cleaned it, he charged it, and it went off,” said Capt. John Richards of the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office.
Suarez was struck in the chest, Richards said.
The name of the officer whose gun fired was not immediately released.
The shooting is being investigated by the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Suarez had previously served as police chief for Boston before surrendering the position. Before that, he had served as a jailer for the sheriff’s office.
Thomas County Sheriff Carlton Powell remembered Suarez as a pleasant, helpful officer.
“He had a kind approach to people. I’m personally going to miss him a lot,” Powell said.
Richards had known Suarez for more than 25 years. The two worked together at the Thomas County Correctional Institute as correctional officers.
“He was a good person to have as a friend. He’d give you the shirt off his back,” Richards said. “He would do anything for a friend or for any officer.”
The investigation into the shooting will continue, but Richards said preliminary findings indicate the shooting was an accident.
For more on accidental discharge, please read Preventing accidental discharge during close quarters contact