Holly Springs, Georgia – Holly Springs Police Officer Joe Burson, 25, was killed late Wednesday after making a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle. The suspect, Ansy Dolce, dragged Burson with his vehicle according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Burson, who was wearing a body camera at the time, fired shots at the suspect during the traffic stop according to Fox News.
Investigators initially thought that Burson may have been killed by gunfire but the investigation revealed that he was killed from roadway injuries and the suspect was killed by gunfire.
Holly Springs Chief Tommy Keheley said Burson was a relatively new officer who had been on the force for between a year and a year and a half. Keheley praised him as “a model officer.”
“If you have the ability to clone police officers, you would have wanted your officers to be Joe Burson,” Keheley said. “He has been an asset to this department. He will be greatly missed.”
He said Burson was a “genuinely good individual” who enjoyed teaching children about police.
Burson was married with no children. Keheley said the traffic stop was “just a simple stop and the bottom line is: every bit of this could have been avoided.”
The suspect was 29-years-old and a resident of Cherokee County.
