Trending Topics

Sheriff: Ballistic vest saves shot Ga. deputy; man charged

“Please make sure your loved one wears their bullet proof vest, it can make all the difference in the world,” said Sheriff R.N. Reece

Police officers walking GettyImages-1310109133.jpg

Photo/Getty Images

By Rosana Hughes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

JONES COUNTY, Ga. — A Jones County sheriff’s deputy’s bulletproof vest saved him from injury when a Snellville man shot at him Sunday morning, the sheriff said in a Facebook post.

“Early this morning I got that call that I hoped and prayed would never get,” Sheriff R.N. “Butch” Reece wrote after learning one of his deputies had been shot during a traffic stop in the northern part of the county just northeast of Macon.

“Deputy John Kile was shot but fortunately was hit in his bulletproof vest which saved his life,” Reece wrote. The deputy was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.

Zachary Lucas Olivar, 24, of Snellville, was arrested following a pursuit in which deputies used stop sticks, or tire spikes, to stop him. He is being held at the local jail without bond, according to the sheriff’s office.

“On a personal note to the families of any law enforcement officers, please make sure your loved one wears their bullet proof vest, it can make all the difference in the world, it certainly did today,” Reece wrote.

[RELATED: How to buy body armor (eBook)]

(c)2022 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.)

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU