A “model” Georgia officer was dragged to death while trying to pull over a speeding car late Wednesday, the Holly Springs Police Department announced Thursday.
Joe Burson, 25, was identified as the fallen department’s cop who was killed during a routine traffic stop after he was dragged by a fleeing Ansy Dolce, 29.
The suspect is believed to have been shot by the struggling officer as he was being dragged. Both men died at local hospitals early the following day.
“He was a model officer. If you had the ability to clone police officers, you would have wanted your police officer to be Joe Burson,” Police Chief Tommy Keheley said.
Keheley said that despite being shot, the fleeing suspect did not stop until his car crashed. Surveillance footage and other officers’ bodycam recordings are being revised.
“It was just a simple stop and the bottom line is, every bit of this could have been avoided,” Keheley added. “This is the worst day of any police chief’s job.”
