In the late summer of 2005, a promising young woman named Tara Marie Drummond was on the path to fulfilling her lifelong ambition of a career in law enforcement. At 23 years old, she had recently been sworn in as an officer with the Kennesaw Police Department in Georgia, a significant step towards her ultimate goal of becoming a detective with the GBI or FBI.
However, her journey was tragically cut short on September 13, 2005, during a training exercise that ended in her untimely death.
The incident occurred at the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy in Austell, where Drummond was participating in a firearms training session. The class was under the instruction of Cobb County Sheriff's Deputy Al Jackson. During a demonstration, Jackson's firearm discharged, and a live round struck Drummond. She was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to the single gunshot wound.
An investigation into the shooting revealed that the instructor, Al Jackson, had reportedly been using concerning teaching methods moments before the fatal incident. Recruits in the class later stated they were uncomfortable with Jackson's instructions to point their weapons at each other, even for training purposes. Some reported that Jackson had physically moved them and their firearms into a face-to-face position. The investigation also brought to light that the director of the police academy had, in 2000, issued a written prohibition against Jackson using live weapons in the classroom. A fundamental rule of firearms instruction is to never point a weapon, loaded or not, at another person, a rule that was tragically violated.
Following the investigation, the case was presented to a Cobb County grand jury. They were asked to consider two misdemeanor charges against Jackson: reckless conduct and involuntary manslaughter. However, the grand jury declined to indict Jackson on any criminal charges. While the police investigation did not find criminal intent on Jackson's part, it was critical of his instructional methods. The Cobb Sheriff's Office also conducted its own internal administrative investigation into the matter. The death of Tara Marie Drummond, a new officer with only four months of service, was officially ruled an accidental shooting.
