It is reported that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating a shooting that was allegedly committed by an officer and resulted in fatality of an Opp man.
According to ALEA the incident took place about 7:43 a.m. at which point Opp the police, along with members of the Covington County Incident Response Team, were called at Hardage Circle after receiving a phone call regarding a man who was armed with a knife, who was suffering from an “crisis.”
The scene was awash with police. Officials said the fact that the Opp officers was wounded by the suspect, who was named Cornelius S. Ball, 45, from Opp. Others officers tried to bring Ball who was armed with knives, into custody which led to an officer-involved shooting which resulted in Ball wounded. Ball was taken by ambulance for treatment at Mizell Memorial Hospital and later taken into Medical Center South in Montgomery where he passed away on the following day.
In a story from WDHN Some witnesses have disputed the account of the morning’s incident and claim that Ball was shot when they walked out the apartment’s entrance with what appears to be the belt and not the knife. One of the witnesses claimed to WDHN that Ball was a victim of mental illness and officers “aggravated this situation” through breaking the window in a bathroom, shooting an irritant chemical into the home and then shooting Ball using bean bags.
Opp Police Chief Kevin Chance could not be reached for comment.
Because of the involvement of police the investigation has been handed over to the ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation. The SBI’s findings will then be handed over to the Covington County District Attorney’s Office after the investigation is concluded.
The article SBI investigating a police-involved shooting that resulted in the death of an Opp resident was first published at The Andalusia Star-News.
