Jefferson County Attorney Asked for Opinion Relating to Mount Pleasant Shooting

The Jefferson County Attorney’s office was asked to conduct a review of the facts and to determine whether any criminal charges are appropriate relating to the December 3, 2022 non-fatal officer involved shooting that occurred in Mount Pleasant. This request was made to avoid any appearance of conflict because of the close working relationship between the officers involved and the Henry County Attorney’s office. This does not indicate any actual conflict exists, and Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding said in a written statement that he is confident any reviewing agency would have come to the same conclusions that Henry County Deputy  Carlos Lopez used appropriate force under the circumstances to eliminate a threat when he shot Samantha Shumaker in the arm, then acted swiftly to provide necessary aid to Shumaker. Moulding also said his review is limited to a determination of the facts surrounding the deputy’s discharge of his service weapon, and makes no determination regarding whether and which criminal charges might be appropriate for the other parties involved identified as Samantha Shumaker and  Steven Lovell.