A 20-year-old convicted felon has been charged with shooting a rookie police officer in the face.
Frank Nance, from Atlanta, Georgia, allegedly shot Atlanta Police Department officer Reginald Robinson on Friday during a drug-related chase.
Investigators charged the suspect with nine criminal counts, including aggravated assault, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, having a gun while committing a crime and cocaine possession.
He was taken to Fulton County jail where he appeared bruised and bloodied in his mug shot.
He remained in custody today.
Robinson was listed in stable condition today at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Police said Robinson was questioning Nance over a suspected drug deal in southwest Atlanta at around 6:30 p.m. when the man fled.
The suspect shot the policeman once in the face near the intersection of Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Lee Street during the foot pursuit, according to department spokesman officer John Chafee.
Additional officers arriving in the area detained the 20-year-old and recovered a weapon.
The area around West End Mall and Ralph David Abernathy was shut down on Friday evening, as investigators combed through the crime scene.
The 35-year-old officer graduated from Atlanta’s police academy in November.
Crime scene: The area around West End Mall and Ralph David Abernathy in Atlanta, pictured, was shut down on Friday evening after the shooting
Initial reports suggested that the bullet that hit officer Robinson may have been fired accidentally, but the police report refutes that.
Records show Nance has a long history of arrests.
The 20-year-old has been in and out of the Fulton County Jail several times over the last four years, including an arrest in April on assault and battery charges.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he waived his first court appearance on Saturday morning and was ordered held without bond until his preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for January 25.
Police would not comment to the newspaper on how Nance sustained the injuries to his face that are evident in his mug shot, which was taken on Friday night.
APD spokesman Gregory Lyon said the department’s internal review board will investigate all aspects of the shooting – as they do any time an officer is involved in a shooting – to ensure all policies and procedures were followed.
