The following is a joint press release from the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division and the USDA, Forest
Service.

Immediate Release

For More Information Contact:
Stephanie Neal Johnson, Southern Region Public Affairs Director, USDA
Forest Service - 404-895-1709
Robin Hill, Communications Program Manager, GA Department of Natural
Resources, Wildlife Resources Division - 404-291-9825

Monticello, GA, March 6, 2010 -A USDA Forest Service Law Enforcement
Officer was fatally shot Friday, March 5, at the Ocmulgee Bluff
Equestrian Recreation Area on the Oconee Ranger District of the
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Jasper County.

The officer, Christopher Arby Upton, 37, of Monroe, GA, was on routine
patrol in the area about 11 p.m. Two individuals were hunting coyote
with a high-powered rifle equipped with night vision and apparently
mistook the officer for game. After the shooting, the hunters dialed 911
and reported a hunting incident.

“This is a tragic incident where the loss of a Federal officer’s
life could have been avoided,” said Steven Ruppert, Special
Agent-in-Charge for the Southern Region of the Forest Service. “This
is a devastating loss for Chris’ family, our agency, other law
enforcement officers and his friends and neighbors in Monroe.

“All of our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” Ruppert
said.
“The standard procedure for a hunter is to identify your target and
then shoot,” said Homer Bryson, Law Enforcement Colonel for Georgia
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).
“The hunter failed to do this, and mistook the officer for game. He
then shot and instantly killed the officer.”

The shooter, Norman Clinton Hale, 40, McDonough, GA, and an observer,
Clifford Allen McGouirk, 41, of Jackson, GA, were hunting coyotes. The
incident investigation is being conducted jointly by the Forest Service
and GDNR WRD and is ongoing.

Upton, a 4-year veteran of the Forest Service, had previously worked as
a game warden for the Department of Defense, US Marine Corps, at
Beaufort, South Carolina, and as a conservation officer, game warden and
pilot with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. He is survived by
his wife, Jessica, and a 4-year-old daughter, Annabelle. Arrangements
are pending.

Tragic and totally preventable, KNOW YOUR TARGET. God bless all involved...

Ok how the hell do you mistake a human walking upright for a coyote! That's asinine!

thats no good.

I sure hope it was an accident.
Those men will be affected for awhile.

Mistake kill?? How do you mistake a yote and a human being? Sounds like they were afraid of the dark and shot at first sign of movement.

Yeah something smells bad here...... bad case of dumbass

man what a sad situation. I hope this will be a wake up call for everyone. (That is all the dumbarse hunters that mistake something a human being for wild game)

I remember a case much like more than two decades ago in Mississippi where a guy shot and killed a game warden who was trying to catch him spotlighting deer beind his in-law's house. He was walking back to the house and heard the officer moving in the brush. Not sure what it was, he reportedly shot out of fear.

I think that guy is still in prison for it.

sorry to hear this, prayers out to the family..hope the perps hang for this

I am all for knowing your target. I let some hunter hunt my land and the guy had a leupold scope and stated he could see in the dark with it.
After I let him hunt a year, I had 3 cows come up dead. I didn't know why but considered him shooting them thinking they were deer. He also stated he didn't like to see cows while he was hunting.
He will never come back on my land.
Know your target or don't shoot!!
These guys were old enough to know better.
Prayers for them, the officer and his family.

Yes, I remember that.....

Prayers out to the family, and I just pray that it truely was a mastaken identity. Like maybe he was crawling to sneak up on the and that's why they thought he was a yote. That why you should always know for sure before pulling the trigger.

Tragic. It is our responsibility to positively ID any target.

Prayers out to the officer and his family..

something about this does not add up. THIS DOES NOT PASS THE SMELL TEST. I can't believe a GW would put himself in a situation to where he could be shot in the woods. Somethings not being told.

Sad to hear. Too bad they can't horsewhip the guy that shot him.

And people wonder why wardens are sometimes less than freindly when doing their job.

I bet he was walking up a hill and they saw his eyes through the scope.....Terible thing to do and a good reason to identify your target.

I agree with sigfan226....bad case of dumbass, and even if its an accident that will haunt this guy for the rest of his life.

I'm with BiGDave,there's something amiss here. If he thought he was after poachers or spotlighters, he shudda had a back up. Also, I learned long ago, from a warden, to call in to the Game Warden's office if you're gonna be hunting at nights and give him the details, location, etc. I got called in on for spotlighting (Varmint Hunting). The GW was PO'd, not because I was varminting, but because I didn't call him and let him know. He was sleeping soundly before someone called in on me.

x2 sad, sad, sad I have a good friend who is a game warden in Camp County and we share an office at work with the game warden here in Franklin County. Im gonna show them this story tomorrow

Agreed. Anybody that shoots a person and thinks they were an animal is full of crap and should go to prison for a long time

Tragic. Feel for the family. Just awful.

x2

I'm new to your site and this is my first post. I searched out this site with hopes of finding information about hunting Texas while on business next year. But the very first thing I read is another fellow officer being killed while performing his duties.
It brings home how often law enforcement put their lives on the line and people don't realize it. Most officers aren't killed in the heat of a gun battle with crazed people, but more often just trying to do their jobs. Frequently it's responding to an emergency, operating aircraft or doing what we do every day. It's easy to pass judgment on an officer after the fact, which is what happens way to often. Here in Alaska we are almost always alone and backup can be hundreds of miles away. Anyway my point is please don't Monday morning quarterback the officer, he was just trying to do his job. My heart goes out to his family..............

bad bad deal. sounds to me like a stupid accident, but that doesnt mean its ok. far from it. guy should have identified. thoughts and prayers for the family.

Sounds like someone shooting at "eyes" in their night vision scope!!! DUMB-A$$!!!

I'll bet there will be some new legislation coming down from this!!! We are all going to pay for their stupidity!!!