Cumming Man Shot Dead By Cobb County Officer

Matthew Murdock, 34, of Cumming, is dead after being shot by a Cobb County police officer after what Cobb investigators report was a physical altercation.

According to a report from the Cobb County Police Department, at about 11:25 p.m., Thursday, officers from Zone 2 were dispatched to the Pucket Drive portion of Mableton Parkway after receiving information of a suspicious person in the area.

An officer confronted Murdock, who was pulling out of the parking lot at 642 Puckett Drive in a green 2003 Volkswagen Passat.

For reasons not included in the report, a Cobb County Sheriff's deputy arrived on the scene to assist with the traffic stop.

According to the Cobb Police report, the officer initially on the scene stepped away to verify information, which is when the deputy and the man became involved in a physical altercation.

At this point, another officer arrived on the scene.

The report stated that the man was not obeying commands of the officer and looked as though he was reaching for a weapon, which is when the second officer fatally shot the man.

The report does not state that a weapon was found on Murdock, who was transported by ambulance to Atlanta Medical Hospital, but died at 2:06 a.m., Friday.

The names of the officers involved are not being released, and the incident is being investigated by the Cobb County Police Department's Crimes Against Persons Unit in conjunction with the Cobb County Department of Public Safety's Internal Affairs Unit.

The officer who shot Murdock has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.