CHAMBLEE, Ga. — 'I'm hit. I'm hit. I'm hit radio. Shots fired," Lt. Collar said just seconds after getting shot in the head when a traffic stop for a stolen car went awry in November. Audio released by Chamblee Police Department sheds light on the night that devastated his family.
Lt. Collar suffered a small skull fracture and two minor bleeds on the brain. Officials said he has fully recovered from the shooting and will be back on the force soon.
It all started when officers were patrolling an area in the Northlake neighborhood on the first of November. A license plate reader alerted Lt. Collar and his partner to a stolen car possibly connected to a robbery.
The two officers tried to stop the car to attempt a traffic stop, but the driver and passenger of the car ran away on Briarcliff Road. The driver was caught by police, but the passenger shot through Lt. Collar's windshield where the bullet grazed his skull.
"I probably won’t be here today if it [the bullet] was a half-inch lower or a different angle, this could have been a different story," Lt. Collar said.
In the audio, just a minute before the shooting, officers can be heard chasing the suspects in the patrol car to pursue the traffic stop. As they turned onto Briarcliff Way, officers said, "he bailed, he bailed," regarding the suspects running away.
Just 30 seconds later, in between radio silence, that's when Lt. Collar can be heard alerting dispatch of his status. After the shooting, responding officers radioed for more help and investigators.
Lt. Collar said it all became a blur after he was taken to the hospital.
Weeks later, Lt. Collar told 11Alive he was ready and willing to run back into harm's way to help others.
The suspect, Oscar Arreola, charged with allegedly shooting Lt. Collar, was recently denied bond on Nov. 29, according to DeKalb County court documents.