Immediate Release
>
> For More Information Contact:
> Stephanie Neal Johnson, Southern Region Public Affairs Director, USDA
> Forest Service – 404-895-1709
> Robin Hill, Communications Program Manager, GA Department of Natural
> Resources, Wildlife Resources Division – 404-291-9825
>
> Monticello, GA, March 6, 2010 –A USDA Forest Service Law Enforcement
> Officer was fatally shot Friday, March 5, at the Ocmulgee Bluff
> Equestrian Recreation Area on the Oconee Ranger District of the
> Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Jasper County.
>
> The officer, Christopher Arby Upton, 37, of Monroe, GA, was on routine
> patrol in the area about 11 p.m. Two individuals were hunting coyote
> with a high-powered rifle equipped with night vision and apparently
> mistook the officer for game. After the shooting, the hunters dialed 911
> and reported a hunting incident.
>
> “This is a tragic incident where the loss of a Federal officer’s
> life could have been avoided,” said Steven Ruppert, Special
> Agent-in-Charge for the Southern Region of the Forest Service. “This
> is a devastating loss for Chris’ family, our agency, other law
> enforcement officers and his friends and neighbors in Monroe.
>
> “All of our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” Ruppert
> said.
> “The standard procedure for a hunter is to identify your target and
> then shoot,” said Homer Bryson, Law Enforcement Colonel for Georgia
> Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).
> “The hunter failed to do this, and mistook the officer for game. He
> then shot and instantly killed the officer.”
>
> The shooter, Norman Clinton Hale, 40, McDonough, GA, and an observer,
> Clifford Allen McGouirk, 41, of Jackson, GA, were hunting coyotes. The
> incident investigation is being conducted jointly by the Forest Service
> and GDNR WRD and is ongoing.
>
> Upton, a 4-year veteran of the Forest Service, had previously worked as
> a game warden for the Department of Defense, US Marine Corps, at
> Beaufort, South Carolina, and as a conservation officer, game warden and
> pilot with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. He is survived by
> his wife, Jessica, and a 4-year-old daughter, Annabelle. Arrangements
> are pending.
>
:angel
:angel
thats a terrible situation for all involved. shooter should have better identified his target, but the eyes have a way of making everything look like what you want them to see, and if the officer had some sort of light or reflective clothing ( I know it makes it harder to sneak up on someone in the dark ) the whole thing would have probably been prevented. now if the hunters had prev criminal hunting records and/or were drunk, thats another story. if the hunter is anykind of decent human being I'm sure no punishmet is gonna be worse than what he's allready feeling. my condolences to both parties.
:angel
