William McCollom lived with his wife Margaret in a modest house in Peachtree, Georgia, an upscale town of 35,000 southwest of Atlanta. In October 2014 the major appointed the 58-year-old law enforcement officer to the position of chief of police.
On Thursday January 1, 2015, at four-fifteen in the morning, Chief McCollom called 911 to report the shooting of his wife at their home. "Gunshot wound," he said. "Accidental, need medical ASAP!"
The 911 dispatcher asked, "Who shot her?"
"Me," he replied.
"How did you shoot her?"
"The gun (a 9mm Glock) was in the bed, I went to move it, put it to the side. It went off."
"Is she awake?"
"No, everybody was sleeping."
"No," the dispatcher said, "is she awake now?" (A woman could be heard moaning in the background.)
"Yes," the chief said. Then to his wife he asked, "Are you having trouble breathing, dear?" To the dispatcher he said, "Come on guys, get here. Oh my God, how did this happen?"
"Is that her crying?" asked the dispatcher.
"Yes, she's having trouble breathing."
"Were you asleep also when this happened?"
"Yes." At this point, about two minutes into the 911 call, Chief McCollom identified himself. "I'm the chief of police," he said.
"Where is the gun?"
"The gun is on the dresser."
"You're the chief of police in Peachtree?"
"Yeah, unfortunately, yes," he replied.
Emergency medical personnel flew the 57-year-old shooting victim to the Atlanta Medical Center. According to doctors there, Margaret McCollom was in critical condition. The mayor of Peachtree placed the chief on administrative leave and asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to take over the case.
The district attorney of Fayette County told reporters that he would decide if criminal charges were appropriate after the GBI completed its investigation of the shooting. Friends and neighbors questioned by reporters all insisted that the chief and his wife were not experiencing marital problems or any form of domestic discord.
On Monday January 12, 2015, doctors released Margaret McCollom from the hospital. The shooting had left her paralyzed from the waist down. She told GBI detectives that she was asleep when shot and that she believed it was an accident. Before submitting a report to the district attorney's office, investigators were awaiting the results of crime lab tests on the gun as well as the chief's blood-alcohol analysis.
On March 11, 2015 William McCollom resigned from the police department. On the city's website he wrote the following: "I have had two families in Peachtree--my police family and my personal family. I need to continue to focus my time and efforts there."
According to District Attorney Scott Ballard, McCollom had accidentally shot his sleeping wife after he had consumed alcohol and sleep medication. The prosecutor planned to ask a grand jury to indict the former chief of police on the misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct.
In August 2015 William Mcollom pleaded guilty to the above charge and was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation.
On Thursday January 1, 2015, at four-fifteen in the morning, Chief McCollom called 911 to report the shooting of his wife at their home. "Gunshot wound," he said. "Accidental, need medical ASAP!"
The 911 dispatcher asked, "Who shot her?"
"Me," he replied.
"How did you shoot her?"
"The gun (a 9mm Glock) was in the bed, I went to move it, put it to the side. It went off."
"Is she awake?"
"No, everybody was sleeping."
"No," the dispatcher said, "is she awake now?" (A woman could be heard moaning in the background.)
"Yes," the chief said. Then to his wife he asked, "Are you having trouble breathing, dear?" To the dispatcher he said, "Come on guys, get here. Oh my God, how did this happen?"
"Is that her crying?" asked the dispatcher.
"Yes, she's having trouble breathing."
"Were you asleep also when this happened?"
"Yes." At this point, about two minutes into the 911 call, Chief McCollom identified himself. "I'm the chief of police," he said.
"Where is the gun?"
"The gun is on the dresser."
"You're the chief of police in Peachtree?"
"Yeah, unfortunately, yes," he replied.
Emergency medical personnel flew the 57-year-old shooting victim to the Atlanta Medical Center. According to doctors there, Margaret McCollom was in critical condition. The mayor of Peachtree placed the chief on administrative leave and asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to take over the case.
The district attorney of Fayette County told reporters that he would decide if criminal charges were appropriate after the GBI completed its investigation of the shooting. Friends and neighbors questioned by reporters all insisted that the chief and his wife were not experiencing marital problems or any form of domestic discord.
On Monday January 12, 2015, doctors released Margaret McCollom from the hospital. The shooting had left her paralyzed from the waist down. She told GBI detectives that she was asleep when shot and that she believed it was an accident. Before submitting a report to the district attorney's office, investigators were awaiting the results of crime lab tests on the gun as well as the chief's blood-alcohol analysis.
On March 11, 2015 William McCollom resigned from the police department. On the city's website he wrote the following: "I have had two families in Peachtree--my police family and my personal family. I need to continue to focus my time and efforts there."
According to District Attorney Scott Ballard, McCollom had accidentally shot his sleeping wife after he had consumed alcohol and sleep medication. The prosecutor planned to ask a grand jury to indict the former chief of police on the misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct.
In August 2015 William Mcollom pleaded guilty to the above charge and was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation.
No comments:
Post a Comment