Officer, suspect shot during city traffic stop
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on June 9, 2008 2:07 PM
A Goldsboro police officer and a Princess Street man exchanged gunfire after a traffic stop on Sunday afternoon, injuring both men, authorities said.
The police officer was shot several times, according to police reports.
Officer Clint Hales pulled over Jerome Demond Wright, 25, around 2:50 p.m. Sunday, according to the report.
That's when some sort of altercation occurred, and Hales was shot with a handgun, according to the report.
Goldsboro police Sgt. Chad Calloway said further investigation will determine who actually shot whom and with what weapon.
Wright, of Princess Street, was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital, but was later taken by helicopter to Pitt Memorial Hospital.
A hospital spokesperson at Pitt did not immediately return a call to give Wright's condition.
Calloway said he did not know Wright's condition. Published reports said he was in stable condition Sunday night.
Hales, 30, was in intensive care but in stable condition according to a Wayne Memorial Hospital spokeswoman.
The Goldsboro police report did not say why Hales pulled Wright over.
Drug or alcohol use was not involved in the incident, according to the report.
City Manager Joe Huffman said the city had no comment except to ask residents to keep the officer their prayers.
The State Bureau of Investigation has been called in to help with the investigation, according to local authorities.