Original subtitles

[officer 1 speaking]

This car is in our city.

Your adrenaline is just absolutely through the roof.

I mean, you're talking about a Fast & Furious movie.

[Rob Holloway speaking]

[Wesley Cheatwood speaking]

In my mind, I was ready for a shootout.

[dramatic music playing]

[sirens blaring]

[Pruitt] Copy. 238.

[indistinct]

Go ahead for 10-80.

[officer speaking on radio]

[Pruitt speaking]

[Drew Fowler] The city of Villa Rica is about 13 miles

from the initial stop location.

And at that time, I sent my officers down to the exit ramps

to see how we could intervene or help the trooper.

[officer speaking on radio]

[Pruitt speaking]

-[officer on radio] Copy. We copy. -[Pruitt] Yeah.

[Pruitt speaking]

An AK-47 is essentially a 30-caliber weapon,

uh, that can do a lot of damage.

It can disable, uh, vehicles, it can go through soft armor.

Uh, it's nothing you really want to tangle with.

The shots ricochet off the hood and into the engine block

of Trooper Pruitt's patrol vehicle,

as well as into his windshield.

The suspects had every opportunity to disengage

and essentially just get away, uh, but they didn't.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[officer 2 speaking on radio]

[Pruitt speaking]

[officer 2] Sheriff on the 13. We still don't have the VC.

We don't have the vehicle description yet.

-[Pruitt speaking] -[officer 3 on radio] Shots fired.

[Pruitt speaking]

[Cheatwood] Trooper Pruitt used to work with us

at Carrollton Police Department.

We're a family. I mean, we're like brothers.

We had no idea where the vehicle was.

We don't know that it's coming to Carrollton.

It could go to several other cities around us.

We knew that we had a temporary plate

that was a dealership, uh, possibly in Alabama, that began with a "B."

And that's what we were looking for.

A lot of the guys on shift at this time were young.

If this does go bad, are they ready for it?

I took US-27, uh, at Columbia Drive.

Once I got there, I turned all my headlights,

interior lights, everything off

because I didn't want to be seen.

I was hoping to see that car before that car saw me.

And I'm antsy, but I'm also confident.

It's a very similar feeling

to sitting in the locker room.

Like, you know you're about to go to war,

but at the same time,

you don't know what it's going to be like.

I knew we were looking for a sedan,

I knew we were looking for an Alabama tag.

If I encounter this car, what am I gonna do?

What actions am I gonna take?

[Brice] Every time I saw headlights,

it was like your heart starts beating a little bit faster, beating a little bit faster.

And then you see the car drive in front of you, and it's not the car.

And you just take that big, deep breath.

You're like, [exhales deeply] "Okay."

[Cheatwood] I had one of my officers

viewing our traffic cameras across the city

to make sure we didn't miss the vehicle.

[officer speaking on radio]

[Cheatwood] He was able to find what he believed to be that vehicle.

This car is in our city.

[siren blaring]

[Hicks] Your adrenaline is just absolutely through the roof.

[Brice] It's just an immediate adrenaline dump.

You know, your heart starts racing, and it's go time.

Maybe the vehicle is gonna attempt to get back to the nearest interstate.

So I drove trying to cut the vehicle off.

I was seeing a group of cars.

And then just one of the vehicles,

kind of, make a sudden turn.

I turned my spotlight on, pointing directly at the tag, just trying to verify.

I realized these are the guys that shot at Trooper Pruitt.

[officer speaking]

[Holloway speaking]

[officer speaking]

[Cheatwood] Sergeant Rob Holloway was my supervisor,

and he was calling out and transmitting

all radio traffic on my behalf.

[Holloway speaking]

[Cheatwood] There was a million feelings rushing through my body.

The driver is driving speeds

triple or more of the speed limit.

They have total disregard for human life.

In my mind, I'm willing to give up mine if I need to in this pursuit.

[Holloway speaking]

[gunshots]

-[Cheatwood speaking] -[gunshots]

The suspect began firing a volley of shots at me.

[gunshots]

I think my chest was beating out of my--

You know, out of my vest.

This doesn't make sense. This doesn't happen in Carrollton.

I mean, you're talking about a Fast & Furious movie.

[Holloway speaking]

[Cheatwood] And the spike strip

essentially would deflate the vehicle's tires.

And the vehicle would have no option

but to come to a complete stop.

[Holloway speaking]

[Hicks] Where am I at in this lineup?

Well, we know Corporal Cheatwood is first.

We know Sergeant Holloway is gonna be second.

He's, he's calling out that chase,

and we're behind them.

We're still an eighth mile behind the chase.

[Hicks speaking]

I make it to the intersection with Officer Brice.

And I swear Brice-- I swear he cut me off.

I don't know where he was at, but I might have.

I know I dusted him. I know that much.

[Holloway speaking]

Me and Officer Brice are just trying to close distance

so there's enough support,

so Corporal Cheatwood and Sergeant Holloway

wouldn't necessarily be alone.

[Holloway speaking]

[Cheatwood] Creating space between that suspect and myself

was extremely important to survival.

The AK-47 they were using

would easily penetrate our body armor.

[Holloway speaking]

[Cheatwood] As we were approaching the Triangle,

in my mind, I was ready for a shootout.

[Holloway speaking]

[Cheatwood] As rounds started being fired...

Rob's vehicle drifted into my lane.

I had to put my brakes on to keep from just our cars rubbing against one another.

I thought maybe they had shot his tire and blew a tire out.

I saw sparks flying everywhere.

I saw Rob hit a light pole at a rapid speed.

[Cheatwood speaking]

I began to shake Rob,

and I saw blood dripping down the front of his vest.

I see one single bullet hole

through his windshield at head level,

and I knew he had been shot in the head.

[Brice speaking]

[officer speaking]

[Brice speaking]

Uh, somebody yells, "They're power lines.

Don't touch them. They're power lines."

So I have to go, uh, a little east of Rob's car, jump the power line,

and then run back to Rob's vehicle.

[Cheatwood speaking]

-[Brice] Rob, Rob! Keep it-- -[Cheatwood speaking]

[Brice] And his head's, kind of, turned away from me.

And he's looking through the windshield, and his eyes are open,

but he's snoring.

That noise that he's doing, we commonly refer to it as the death rattle.

When you hear somebody doing that noise,

you know that they're not far from death.

I thought it was the last time I was gonna see him.

[Hicks speaking]

It's confusing. I mean, the scenes are confusing.

You still don't know--

You know, are the suspects here?

Where are they at?

Because I wasn't sure.

I thought that everybody had wrecked together is what I kind of assumed.

I'm running about 120 miles an hour, trying to catch up.

I was mad, I was upset

because another fellow officer had just been hurt.

[officer 1 speaking]

[Repetto] We had two deputies that were trying to maintain a safe distance

while they were chasing

because the guy was still shooting at 'em.

[gunshots]

[officer 1 speaking]

[officer 1 speaking]

-[officer 1 speaking] -[officer 2] Get up. You're okay. You're okay.

-[officer 1 speaking] -[officer 2] Hold on.

While we're screaming at him,

he takes a big deep breath and starts blinking.

He turns towards us and looks at us,

and that's when I can see the wound to the right side of his head.

[officer 2 speaking]

[Brice] His head is just blown open.

And it looks like a busted watermelon.

-[officer 2] Rob, you're okay. -[officer 1 speaking]

[officer 3 speaking]

[officer 4 speaking]

[Brice] He's bleeding profusely.

We have to get him out of the car

so we can stop the bleeding.

[officer 3 speaking]

-[officer 4 speaking] -[officer 5] We need some gauze!

-[officer 3 speaking] -[officer 5 speaking]

[officer 3] I got it.

It's just very gruesome, and blood is everywhere.

This is it. This is-- You know, this is--

Rob is going to die.

-[officer 1 speaking] -[officer 2] We got you, Rob.

[officer 3 speaking]

[Brice] We're talking life and death.

We know that seconds matter.

[officer 1 speaking]

[officer 2 speaking]

The fastest thing is not to wait for that ambulance.

We need a helicopter.

Well, we're very familiar with the area.

We know a helicopter is not gonna land at the Triangle.

[officer 1 speaking]

[Hicks] Then we got to get a car.

And so I'm like, "Hey, that's, that's work I can do."

[Hicks speaking]

So just that team cohesiveness

is, like, just full on at that point.

I'd almost say we're robotic.

-[Hicks speaking] -[officer 1] Get him in the car.

[Brice] We're going to backtrack from where we are now

to a safer location than we call an LZ, a landing zone.

-[officer 2 speaking] -[officer 3] Two, three!

[Hicks] And it really dawned on me at that point

that, you know, somebody I care about

has been hurt and the severity of it.

I'm not losing hope, as much as I'm just--

I'm desperately clinging to hope at this point.

[officer 1 speaking]

[officer 2] You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay.

Come on.

-[Hicks speaking] -[officer 2 speaking]

[Hicks] Having him in the back of my car,

you know, with another officer just trying to talk to him.

[indistinct chatter]

[officer 2] Try and move your leg.

[Hicks sobbing]

[officer 2] You're fine.

[officer 2] Lean back.

-[dispatcher on radio] -[officer 2] Dispatch, we're coming up...

[Hicks] Oh, man.

[Hicks speaking]

That was the toughest moment I've had to deal with there,

but my emotions had just--

Had gotten to me at that point.

[Cheatwood] I remember needing to get to Rob's house.

Um, as I said, we're very close.

I knew where he lived. I knew his wife personally.

[Cheatwood speaking]

-[officer 2 speaking] -[Cheatwood] Okay.

I had blood from the tip of my fingers to my elbows.

And I knew that I couldn't leave to go get his wife.

[officer] Okay.

[Repetto] We had two deputies following the suspects at that point.

I'm maybe half a minute behind them.

Corporal Trout and Deputy Reed,

they're about three-quarters of a mile in front of me.

The two deputies were trying to keep the vehicle in visual contact,

but they were also kind of hanging back a little

because one suspect was shooting a high-powered rifle.

He's just randomly shooting.

A rifle like that has a longer kill distance.

That bullet, it can go over a mile in a straight line

and still kill somebody.

I was about 30 seconds away from catching up with them,

and Corporal Trout advised that the vehicle left the roadway

and went into a wooded area on the right side of the road.

[officer speaking]

[Repetto speaking]

[officer speaking]

And there was, like, an old dirt path there

that they actually went down into.

So the vehicle was sitting in the woods.

At that point in time, we really didn't know where they were at.

These guys seem to be intent on targeting law enforcement.

[officer speaking]

[Repetto speaking]

[officer 1 speaking]

[officer 2 speaking]

[officer 3 speaking]

[Fowler] When I arrived on scene,

the Carroll County Sheriff's Office

had already kind of started

forming a little basic perimeter

right up on the roadway.

There's two armed suspects in the darkness

and they know where we're at

and we don't have a clue where they're at.

I just knew that this was probably not gonna end in a good way.

[Brice] We start hearing the helicopter in the distance

and I run to the back of my patrol car

and get, basically, glow sticks.

We start throwing them out to mark this landing zone.

[helicopter blades whirring]

When the helicopter lands, that's when all the emotions start to kick in

because that's when we gave Rob to these people

and our hands are no longer involved.

I remember feeling just sad, angry, lost.

That's when it got tough.

[officer 1 speaking]

-[officer 2 speaking] -[officer 3 speaking]

[officer 1 speaking]

-[officer 2 speaking] -[officer 1 speaking]

[Brice] And we all lock arms with each other,

and Hicks just starts to pray.

Um...

and basically prays that Rob makes it.

[Hicks] Coming together and praying was probably...

[chuckles nervously]

the only thing that got us through that moment.

I don't know, it was very hard.

I mean, I was just defeated.

I know I was defeated,

and, uh...

I didn't think Rob would make it.

[cell phone ringing]

I received a phone call from Rob's lieutenant.

He asked me to come to the door, that he was there,

and I just assumed that Rob had left something

or he needed to pick something up.

And when I went to the door,

his lieutenant was there along with the day shift lieutenant

and I knew that something bad had happened.

I knew that if someone had to be airlifted from a situation

that their injuries were substantial.

And so I was I was terrified of what had happened.

I was praying and begging God to save his life.

[Fowler speaking]

I directed several of my officers

upon Whitworth Road

to contain the suspects in a generalized area

and to keep them from from fleeing any further.

I felt like I wasn't doing enough quickly enough.

Time felt like it had slowed and sped all at the same time.

[gunshots over radio]

[officer on radio]

[Fowler speaking]

[operator speaking]

[gunshot]

[officer speaking]

[Fowler speaking]

It was coming from the vicinity of the perimeter

that I placed my officers upon

and I just knew that they were involved at that point.

To me, I just wanted to get down there.

I needed to get down there.

[Repetto] Corporal Trout yelled, "Let's go, let's go!"

And I jumped in his car.

-[Repetto speaking] -[Trout speaking]

[Repetto speaking]

[Repetto speaking]

-[Trout speaking] -[Repetto speaking]

[doors opening]

We could see a police vehicle with lights on

down in front of us.

About 25, 30 yards maybe.

I was actually looking to see if I could see anybody

down on the side of the road or anything like that.

I knew there was a Villa Rica officer down there

that had been involved in a shootout,

but I didn't know where he was at.

[Trout speaking]

-[Repetto speaking] -[Trout speaking]

[gunshots]

When the suspect first shot through the windshield,

I saw, and this is gonna sound weird,

but I saw a ball of glass

coming through the windshield...

towards me.

And then I did feel like I got hit with a baseball bat.

I don't remember how I did it,

but I ended up out on the ground.

[gunshots]

And the shots stopped and I thought Corporal Trout had been killed.

[indiscernible]

[Repetto] Next thing I know,

the suspect comes around the front of the vehicle.

He's looking at me, he's kind of stumbling

and he's trying to bring his his rifle up.

And I pulled out my revolver...

[gunshot]

and I shot him.

[indiscernible]

[Fowler] At that point I exited my patrol vehicle.

[officer] Let me see your hands!

And Corporal Trout was standing in an upright position,

and Deputy Repetto was sitting upon the ground kind of clutching his arm.

Prior to getting to the scene,

my officers were on that perimeter.

Officer Gordy and Officer Shepherd.

But I didn't know where they were at.

And at that point it hits me that something's happened to Officer Gordy.

I didn't know where Officer Gordy was at.

I just knew that I had to get to him.

There was still another suspect out there,

we didn't know where he was at.

Is he gonna locate him before I do?

[officer speaking]

[officer speaking]

[officer speaking]

[officer speaking]

Hearing Officer Gordy key up on the radio was a sigh of relief

because I knew that he was still alive.

I could see blood, you know, coming from his person.

He had blood smeared on his face.

[Gordy screaming]

-[officer speaking] -[Gordy speaking]

[Fowler] Based upon the wounds that I saw,

I felt like he had a fighting chance.

We've now had three police officers

that have been shot, that have been injured.

We still have one suspect still out there on the loose.

Georgia State Patrol had their aviation team inbound.

His location was still unknown.

We were still considering him just as armed and dangerous as first suspect.

The fight's not done.

We're gonna get back in this until it's over.

[man] You're fine.

[Fowler speaking]

[operator speaking]

[Fowler speaking]

[operator speaking]

[Fowler speaking]

Dispatch advised me that they received a 911 call from a resident in the area

advising that she believed there was a man hiding in her backyard.

[man over radio]

[Fowler] We're still concerned

that there could be a third or fourth gun battle essentially.

[Fowler speaking]

[Fowler speaking]

The helicopter walked the SWAT team in step-by-step

to the location of our second suspect.

After the SWAT team had detained the suspect,

they walked him out of the woodline.

[Fowler] His head was kind of hung, his shoulders were drooped.

And at that time it was just a sigh of relief overall.

It felt like, "Hey, it's over.

Nobody else is gonna get hurt."

[male reporter] Early morning mayhem in Carroll County

sent three officers to the hospital

and left one of the suspects dead.

The Carroll County Sheriff's Office

has identified the surviving suspect

as 22-year-old Aaron Shelton.

We expect two of the three officers medics rushed to the hospital

to return home soon.

The third, Carrollton Sergeant Rob Holloway,

remains in Grady's intensive care unit.

We knew that every day that he survived was better.

And the odds got better every day.

But it wasn't until three or four days later

that we all met as a shift again.

We got a FaceTime call,

and on the other end of that FaceTime call was Rob.

Love you guys.

See y'all when I get out and my head's fixed. [kisses]

Rob is a fighter

and he has a warrior's spirit and he doesn't give up,

and he doesn't let anything get the best of him.

[man speaking]

[woman speaking]

[people cheering]

[Stephanie] It was very overwhelming.

There were so many people from our family,

from law enforcement family.

Coming home, it was such an honor

and such a humbling experience.

It was wonderful.

[man on radio]

On the night of April 11,

being shot in the head,

my life was almost taken.

During the initial pursuit,

I told the members of our shift to be prepared for a gunfight.

Cheatwood had gotten close to the suspect vehicle.

I begin to tell Cheatwood "We're too close. Back off."

The last final destination

that I remember passing would be Old Airport Road.

That's all I can tell you...

before my head was nearly blown off.

I remember hearing somebody saying, "Rob, you're okay.

You've been shot and the chief knows."

There is nothing about the chase that I regret.

We were able to stop a suspect that had shot at an officer.

Physically, I'm okay.

Uh, mentally, though, I'm...

I've been diagnosed with

PTSD, anxiety,

some depression, things like that.

It's gotten better, though,

with therapy that I've been getting.

Um, I'm able to deal with it a lot better.

[Fowler] Although the pursuit, in the scheme of things,

it lasted, you know, minutes of the events of that night,

I think it will live on kind of forever.

[Cheatwood] When you go through something traumatic like this together,

you grow as a group.

Seeing Rob's progress, though, helped a lot of us heal. Rob's positivity.

[Stephanie] The lives of a lot of people in our community

are forever changed because of that night.

There was a lot of tension between law enforcement

and the general public at that time,

and I feel like

from the heroic actions of all of the officers involved,

our community became closer together.

[Rob] The process is slow on the road to recovery,

but trust the process.

Perseverance.

How bad do you want it?

But don't ever give up.

[sirens]

Seemed like he was driving with his hair on fire.

It was pure chaos.

Now we're dealing with a mad man.