(11 ALIVE) – A Georgia State University Police officer’s superiors are crediting her sharp training for saving not only her life, but someone else’s, when two gunmen attempted to rob them over the weekend.
On Sunday night, LaToya Crook, 31, and a friend were walking near her home on Donnelly Avenue SW when two men came out of nowhere. Officer Crook was off duty, and in plain clothes. But she was armed. In a split second, at least one of the men opened fire and struck Crook twice, and she was able to return fire, forcing the men to run away.
She was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital, and is expected to leave the hospital within a few days, and make a full recovery. Atlanta Police are still investigating the incident.
GSU Police Chief Joe Spillane said he’s sure Crook’s training and experience saved her life and her friend’s life.
“Obviously, she felt threatened,” Chief Spillane said. “Obviously, there was a presence of another weapon because she was hit twice…. She’s a good police officer, that’s why we hired her.”
Crook joined the GSU Police force just this January.
She is an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
She is a police veteran, serving in downtown Atlanta–first, with the Georgia World Congress Center Police Department, then with the Georgia State University Police Department, working nights and helping protect tens-of-thousands of students and faculty in the downtown Atlanta campus.
