Ga. officer dies days after being shot while executing an arrest warrant

By Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — The Carroll County police officer who was shot while serving an arrest warrant died Friday from his injuries, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigator Taylor Bristow was shot Tuesday morning and flown to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. He remained in critical condition at the time of his death. Bristow was 30.

“Tonight we mourn the passing of researcher Bristow, who has left this earth and received his heavenly wings,” The Carroll Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. “He served our community with unwavering passion and dedicated his life to protecting the citizens of Carroll County. We are heartbroken and at a loss for words. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers and respect their privacy as they grieve this profound loss.”

Bristow was the second metro Atlanta officer killed in the line of duty in less than a week. On Aug. 17, Paulding County Deputy Brandon Cunningham was shot and killed while responding to a report of domestic violence at a home near Hiram, investigators said.

Bristow, who had served with the Carroll department for six years, was attempting to serve an arrest warrant related to a GBI investigation into child sexual exploitation when he was shot, investigators said. The incident happened around 8:30 a.m. near Don Rich Drive, a dead-end road near Walker Lake, just south of Carrollton.

Christopher Bly, 40, of Carrollton, opened the door to the home and officers followed him inside, the GBI said Wednesday.

“Bly pulled out a handgun and fired, striking himself and one of the officers,” the GBI said in a news release. “Bly was pronounced dead at the scene.”

The GBI is still investigating the incident.

Bristow previously worked for the Ware County Sheriff’s Office and the Waycross Police Department.

This year, six Georgia police officers have died in the line of duty. Both Cunningham and Bristow were shot. The other four officers died in car crashes.

Bristow was the third Carroll deputy to die in the line of duty, according to the Officers Down Memorial Page, which tracks law enforcement deaths. Deputy Davy Wayne Crawford died in a car crash in February 2010, and Lt. Billy Ray Jiles was shot and killed in September 2002. The department also lost Deputy Jody Jerome Smith to COVID-19 in September 2021.

HOW TO HELP

Anyone who would like to help Bristow’s family can make a donation. online donation to West Georgia First Responders, a nonprofit that supports first responders in that area. It is the only legitimate donation site connected to the officer and his family, the sheriff’s office said.