Forest officer's death investigated after shooter says he mistook man for coyote

By Rob Pavey
Staff Writer
Monday, March 8, 2010
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    The fatal shooting of a forestry law enforcement officer by coyote hunters in Jasper County remained under investigation Monday by state and federal wildlife authorities.

    "At this point, charges, if any, have not been determined," said spokeswoman Melissa Cummings of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division. "It is still under investigation, and we are working with the Forest Service on this one."

    Christopher Arby Upton, 37, of Monroe, Ga., a U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service officer, was shot about 11 p.m. Friday. He was patrolling in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest.

    The man who shot him, Norman Clinton Hale, 40, of McDonough, Ga., was hunting coyotes with a high-powered rifle equipped with night-vision equipment. He was accompanied by Clifford Allen McGouirk, 41, of Jackson, Ga., authorities said.

    According to their accounts of the incident, Upton was behind a berm, using binoculars, and the binocular lenses apparently looked like eyes through the men's night-vision scopes. They later told investigators they mistook Upton for a coyote. They dialed 911 to report the shooting and are cooperating with investigators.

    Coyotes are a nuisance species in Georgia, and there is no closed season, Cummings said. They may be hunted year-round, and at night, with no bag limits, and the equipment the men were using is legal for such hunts.

    Steven Ruppert, the special agent-in-charge for the Southern Region of the Forest Service, said in a letter to employees Monday that the incident is a terrible tragedy.

    "We are all aware of the inherent risk and danger of this job," he wrote. "Ability, training, and experience, however, cannot protect us in all situations even though we do the right thing. Chris was doing his job and doing it well."

    Law Enforcement Col. Homer Bryson of Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division said the officer was killed instantly -- and he blamed the tragedy on the failure of the shooter to properly identify his target before pulling the trigger.

    It was the 32nd accident and eighth hunting-related fatality in Georgia for the 2009-10 season, according to Department of Natural Resources records.

    The other fatalities included two deaths attributed to natural causes (stroke and heart attack); one "mistaken for game" shooting; one accidental, self-inflicted shooting; a rattlesnake bite; and two falls from deer stands.

    By comparison, Georgia's 2008-09 hunting season yielded 34 hunting accidents and four fatalities. Two of those cases involved heart attacks and two were because of falls from tree stands.

    There were no fatal shootings, but state authorities did investigate six cases in which people were shot by other hunters after being mistaken for game and six accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

    One of the 2008 victims was a Georgia game warden, Cpl. Curtis Wright, who was shot in the lower chest with a 7 mm magnum rifle by a deer hunter 70 yards away. He survived his wounds and has since retired.

    The deer hunter who fired the shot, Lynn Jeffers, eventually pleaded guilty to negligent use of a firearm, hunting without hunter-education certification, hunting without a license and hunting without permission. He received four years' probation plus fines and was given first-offender status, according to DNR records.

    During the 2007-08 season, there were five shooting fatalities, four of which involved children or teenagers. During 2006-07, there were no fatal shootings, and the single reported fatality involved a fall from a tree stand.

    Most hunting accidents occur during deer season, which attracts the most participants. Typically, about 350,000 people hunt in Georgia each season.

    Upton, a four-year veteran of the Forest Service, previously worked as a game warden for the Marine Corps and as a 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.

    The Southern Coyote

    SCIENTIFIC NAME: Canis latrans

    COLOR: Grayish brown to reddish tan to nearly black

    AVERAGE WEIGHT: 25 to 45 pounds

    PRIMARY DIET: Rabbits, rodents, fruit berries, birds

    SCAT: Cigar-shaped, with bone, fur and seeds

    TOP RUNNING SPEED: 40 mph

    HABITAT: All areas of Georgia, South Carolina

    HOME RANGE: 2 to 20 square miles

    LITTER SIZE: Five to Seven pups, born in spring

    SOURCES: U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE; GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

    Hunting accidents
    YearAccidentsFatalities
    2009-10328
    2008-09344
    2007-08215
    2006-07221
    2005-06283
    2004-05162
    2003-04174

    Source: Georgia Department of Natural Resources

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    Comments

    VETERAN OF TRUTH
    VETERAN OF TRUTH
    Saturday, Mar. 13 12:20 PM

    I have read all these comments that have been made on this subject and most are absouletly absourd! I am surely convinced that most of these comment were made by persons with who have no idea of what they are talking about. first of all let me tell you that a coyote's eyes are like no other animals eyes. they show up in the dark with light on them or through night vision equiptment as a bright yellow and very distinct. A dear shows up with a orange or redish color. as far as nigh vision equiptment goes, if you have never used it and never hunted coyote's with it then you need to do alot of research on it before you open your mouth and insert your foot! Distance means everything when using night vision. It doesn't in no way make it look like it is day light outside. There has already been several generations of night vision equiptment since it was first brought to be in WWII. To this day it is still not perfect. Clarity is not always there by no means! When you hunt coyote's you are looking for the eye's and identifying them as you should. Clint Hale did that to the letter. He was legal in every aspect of the law. DNR knows that also or he would have been taken to jail asap. Fact! DNR new that there were hunters registered to hunt in this area. FACT! Hunters didn't know that there were DNR agents crawling around in bushes and undergrowth on their knees looking through binoculars. FACT! DNR were looking for drugs there, because they have had some reports of it. I do not blame the OFFICER, nor do I blame CLINT HALE. If you really want to lay the blame on someone, blame DNR for their training. Put yourself in a position where you killed someone in a car accident because of a pothole in the road you hit through you into another vehicle and in turn it killed the people in the other vehicle. Was it really your fault, or should the pothole have been fixed already by the state or whoever knowing it has happened before and it could happen again? Think about it! now you are going to be charged with involentary manslaughter, but as far as you knew it looked like good road.
    I used night scopes in vietnam and i will assure you that they are not what most of you think they are. Even the ones they have now.
    i want each of you that have made these comments on here of how could this have happen and blaming it on the hunters to do the following. Maybe you will get a real feal of what he actually saw before he pulled the trigger. Then go and do some serious investigating of how they hunt coyote's.
    Now here's what you can do an it is simple!
    First: get a set of regular binoculars
    Second: get a good flashlight.
    Third: go outside in darkness
    Fourth: place the binoculars on an object around 1.5 to 2 feet off the ground with the large optical opening facing you
    Fifth: walk away from them keeping the large end of the binoculars facing you
    Sixth: now turn around and shin the light towards the binoculars large end. do not shin the light directly on them.
    What you will see is coyote eyes! Identical! NO QUESTION WHAT SO EVER! IT IS GOING TO PUT A CHILL DOWN YOUR SPINE!
    MAY GOD BLESS THE FAMILY OF THE OFFICE
    &
    MAY GOD BLESS THE FAMILY OF CLINT HALE

    THERE ARE TWO VICTIMS OF THE TRAGIC ACCIDENT

    ALWAYS LOOK FOR THE REAL TRUTH!

    Truth Investigated
    Truth Investigated
    Wednesday, Mar. 31 9:46 AM

    Veteran of 'Truth' needs to seriously consider changing his handle.

    When you hunt ANY ANIMAL you DO NOT by any stretch of the imagination shoot at eyes. If you are hunting coyote first you identify a complete coyote. That means a coyote head, torso and four legs all attached in one unit.

    Also, NEVER should you identify your target using the scope that is attached to your weapon.

    MAJOR STUPIDITY AT PLAY.

    Those of you that are making lame excuses for the shooter better be ready. It is close to crow season & you're going to be eating hardy.

    Officer Upton gave his life in the line of duty. He was killed by someone who violated most of the primary rules of safe hunting.

    The fault lies squarely with the man who pulled the trigger and sent his round off to kill a man leaving behind a young widow and fatherless daughter.

    No one else shares the blame.

    Truth Investigated
    Truth Investigated
    Tuesday, Mar. 30 10:43 PM

    A couple of other points of interest in Veterans version of the 'truth':

    Hunters are not required to 'register' to hunt the area where Officer Upton was killed.

    Officer Upton was not an employee of DNR. He was a Federal Officer working with the USFS. That is why the FBI has taken over the investigation.

    In fact every statement in his post that is followed by the word "FACT!", is an erroneous statement.

    It's sad that such misrepresentations have been posted here unchallenged.

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