Officer threatens to shoot car with 3 people inside, Georgia cops say. Now, he’s charged
A Georgia officer is out of a job and facing charges for his alleged actions during a July traffic stop, state investigators said.
Kenneth Bishop, a former Soperton Police Department officer, was arrested Aug. 19 on three counts of aggravated assault and a charge of making terroristic threats, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The charges stem from a July 26 incident where Bishop, 60, was accused of pointing his gun and threatening to shoot a car with three people inside, investigators said. Soperton police asked the GBI to investigate.
It’s not clear if Bishop resigned or if he was fired.
McClatchy News reached out to the Soperton Police Department for comment on Tuesday, Aug. 20, and was awaiting a response.
Bishop was responding to a report of assault at the time, the GBI said. During the investigation, he stopped a car with three people who were relatives or friends of the person who was reportedly assaulted.
The people in the car and the officer began arguing, though authorities didn’t say what sparked it. Things escalated, and Bishop drew his gun, investigators said.
“He pointed it at the people in the car while beating on the windows and threatened to shoot the car,” the GBI said.
Authorities didn’t release additional details but said the investigation is ongoing.
Soperton is about a 70-mile drive southeast from Macon.
This story was originally published August 20, 2024 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Officer threatens to shoot car with 3 people inside, Georgia cops say. Now, he’s charged."