Cops accused of assaulting suspect in deputy’s shooting
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Three Richmond County deputies have been arrested in an assault on a man who’s accused of shooting an officer in the face.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported Thursday that the assault happened after Vernon Cratic Jr. was arrested in connection with the Nov. 10 shooting of a deputy at a home on Bungalow Road.
The GBI said an investigation revealed Cratic was struck in the face and stomach while handcuffed in the elevator at the sheriff’s station.
Cratic was also slammed against an exterior wall of the sheriff’s station while handcuffed and being escorted into the building, the GBI reported.
According to the GBI, three deputies were charged:
- Andrew Acosta, 25: Simple battery and violation of oath of office.
- Quincy Cannon, 31: Battery and violation of oath of office.
- Robert Wilson, 45: Violation of oath of office.
They were booked into Richmond County jail, according to the GBI, but had been released by midday Thursday.
The GBI investigation is ongoing.
Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be given to the Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution, the agency said.
Acosta, Cannon and Wilson have been placed on istrative leave pending the completion of an internal affairs investigation, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
Acosta began his employment with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 20, 2021.
Cannon began his employment on June 2, 2018.
Wilson began his employment on Dec. 3, 2016.
“They are all assisted to the Road Patrol Division,” the agency said in a statement.
More about the shooting
Cratic was at the home in the 2200 block of Bungalow Road where deputies responded to a reported disturbance, and is accused of shooting Deputy Michael Cole in the face.
Cole was hospitalized for several days and will need reconstructive surgery.
The shooting happened after deputies arrived at the home at 1:41 a.m. Nov. 10 and learned Cratic was inside with a gun.
Two deputies, including Cole, entered the home to speak with Cratic, but he began firing, the GBI reported.
Additional units responded and secured the home until the Richmond County SWAT team arrived.
Deputies began negotiations with Cratic to get him to surrender peacefully.
While negotiations were taking place, Cratic continued to shoot at law enforcement officers on the scene, according to GBI.
Around 4 a.m. Nov. 10, Cratic surrendered.
He was taken to the Charles B. Webster Detention Center in Augusta and charged with five counts of aggravated assault upon a peace officer, one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of burglary in the second degree, according to jail records.
The officer-involved shooting was the 101st the GBI had been asked to investigate in 2022, including one in Richmond County on May 26.
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