‘Didn’t Even Announce Himself’: Georgia Couple Calls 911 Over Banging at Door. When a Cop Knocked, They Shot Him Believing He Was a Teen Prankster
A middle Georgia woman is fighting charges her husband faces after he allegedly shot a police officer he thought was a trespasser because the cop didn't announce himself when he knocked on his door. Danielle Thompson calls the case one big mix-up. Danielle Thompson exits her LaGrange, Georgia home. (Photo: WSBTV) Thompson said that she and her husband, 73-year-old Laurance Williams, called the police to their home in LaGrange on Nov. 16 when they heard someone beating on their front door. They thought it was a group of teenagers playing a prank. Later, they heard more banging on their door, but they didn't know it was the cop who had responded to their 911 call because he never announced himself as a police officer. “He was knocking, bam, bam, bam,” Thompson told WSB-TV. “He didn’t even announce himself or nothing. So, my husband got up. That’s when the gun went off. Pow." According to LaGrange Police, Williams fired a shot through his front door, which hit the officer in the leg. Authorities say the officer retreated to safety and called for the occupants to exit the home. The couple came outside and was detained without further incident. The officer was airlifted to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Williams was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and giving false statements. But Thompson is challenging his arrest, saying his only intent was to protect his home and fire a warning shot, not to hurt a police officer. She said he purposely aimed the gun low at the door to scare whoever was on the other side. “I think they should let him go because he’s in the right. He was trying to protect his own home,” Thompson said. LaGrange councilmember Nathan Gaskin agrees with the family and expressed concerns about the narrative established from the press release that the police shared with the public about the incident. “I don’t want people to think that there’s some really bad people who are trying to hurt police officers. But that’s what the report made it seem like,” Gaskin said. Thompson said she's glad the officer survived his injuries and is recovering, but still wants authorities to admit that mistakes were made in the response to the couple's 911 call. “I’m praying for him, though. I hate that he got hurt. But you should have announced yourself,” Thompson said. A similar incident took place earlier this month in Indiana, where a homeowner fired a shot through his front door and fatally struck a woman who mistook the home for another house where she was hired to clean. Police formally charged the homeowner with voluntary manslaughter for the killing. Another case that garnered national attention was the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old boy who was shot by 84-year-old Andrew Lester in 2023. Yarl was sent to a home to pick up his younger twin siblings, but arrived at Lester's house by mistake. The teen sustained a serious brain injury after the shooting. Lester pleaded guilty to felony second-degree assault earlier this year, but died before he could be sentenced.
