$10,000 Reward in Cobb Officer Shooting

by Patch Field Editor Rodney Thrash

Cobb police today got a $10,000 boost in the agency's efforts to capture the gunman who shot an officer earlier this month in nearby Smyrna.

The National Police Defense Foundation in Morganville, NJ, offered a $10,000 "Safe Cop" reward for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of a suspect in the July 12 shooting of Cobb Officer Danny Rogers, executive director Joseph Occhipinti announced Tuesday.

This is the second reward offered since the shooting. Atlanta Crime Stoppers offered a reward of up to $5,000 hours after Rogers was shot.

The latest reward is possible because of the Safe Cop program, a congressionally recognized law enforcement initiative of the National Police Defense Foundation that was established in 1995.

It has been instrumental in the arrest of several suspects involved in police-related shootings, and Cobb County Police Chief John R. Houser requested the assistance, Occhipinti said in a statement.

It has been 11 days since Officer Danny Rogers was on patrol at the Concord Chase Apartments on Hurt Road and came across a suspicious man who led him on a foot chase.

About 1:15 a.m., the man turned around at some point during the chase and shot Rogers in the chest, Cobb police Officer Mike Bowman said on the day of the shooting. Rogers was wearing a bulletproof vest.

Rogers, who has been with the police department since 2005, went home that day in good condition, Bowman said.

Police continue to follow up on leads in the search for a black man with a dark complexion and low-cut hair in twists who was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and khaki pants.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call 770-499-3945 or 404-577-TIPS.