A Birmingham man is charged in yesterday’s two-county police chase that led to an officer-involved shooting in Opp.
Multiple law enforcement agencies – including the Alabama Bureau of Investigation – spent hours at the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 331 and Ala. Hwy. 299 where the shooting occurred.
Trooper Kevin Cook said the chase began in Brantley when a trooper attempted to stop a white Toyota Camry, driven by 32-year-old Courtney Keon Jones, for speeding.
Cook said Opp officers joined in the pursuit when it reached their jurisdiction. Cook said Opp officers were able to stop the pursuit by using spike strips, and it was determined that an Opp officer fired a shotgun upon the vehicle’s tire, striking Jones in the process.
The officer was not identified, and the car, which was tagged from Serra Toyota of Birmingham, was determined to be stolen.
Jones was air lifted to an area trauma unit from Channell-Lee Stadium around 3:30 p.m. and sent to Baptist South Medical Center in Montgomery for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, Cook said.
Jones is charged with first-degree possession of stolen property and attempting to elude.
ABI, the investigative division of the Alabama Department of Public Safety, will conduct an investigation into the officer-involved shooting at the request of Opp Police Chief Mike McDonald. Those findings will then be turned over to the Covington County district attorney for review, Cook said.
This is the second high-speed pursuit in Opp in less than four days.