Indian American Police Officer in Georgia Who was Shot While on Duty Succumbs to Injuries

Paramhans Desai, the 38-year-old Indian American police officer in Henry County, Georgia, has died, four days after he was shot shortly after responding to a home for a domestic incident on Nov. 4. Desai was attempting to make an arrest, when 22-year-old Jordan Marquis Jackson, allegedly shot him and fled the scene in a 2016 Honda Civic, the Henry County Police Department said in a statement. Desai was taken to Grady Medical Center, where he breathed his last, on Nov. 8, surrounded by family, including his wife Ankita and two boys — Om, 11 and Mama, 8.

The alleged killer, Jackson, reportedly killed himself before he could be arrested on Tuesday night. He was killed during a standoff with police in Riverdale, CBS46 reported.

“Officer Desai continues to serve, even in his passing, by donating multiple organs which will save numerous lives,” the Henry County Police Department said in a press release. “Please continue to keep Officer Desai’s family in your thoughts and prayers through this terrible tragedy.”

A funeral for Desai will be held on Nov, 14, the department announced. Two days before that, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office along with the Henry County Police Department will hold a prayer vigil in his honor on Nov. 12.

A 17-year law enforcement veteran, Desai has been with the Henry County Police Department for two years. He previously worked for the Georgia Department of Corrections and DeKalb County Police.

Desai’s sister Priya Desai has started a GoFundMe page to help the family’s daily needs and the boys’ education. She says her brother “loved his family, his friends, his people, his community and he served with every fiber of his being,” adding that his “only dream” was to become a police officer. “As an eight-year-old boy in Ohio he hoped to one day be attired in Blue and protect and serve his community,” she says. “Our parents hoped that this was a passing phase, one of those dreams that tend to change with age and time. But that was not the case. Param dug deep, worked hard, struggled and became exactly what he intended to be.”

She said the family is in “the process of picking up the pieces and the only thing that keeps us going as a family is the spirit with which my brother lived his life.”

Meanwhile, news reports, citing authorities, confirm that Jackson killed himself, seconds before being captured in a Clayton County apartment on Nov. 9 evening. 

Jackson, the subject of a massive five-day manhunt, had been hiding out with friends, the department said. Henry police Chief Mark Amerman told a news conference on Nov. 9 that “Jackson barricaded himself in a room and investigators were within feet of him,” and then took his own life before being captured, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

Earlier on Nov. 5, investigators and NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal offered a $30,000 reward for any information regarding Jackson. O’Neal lives in Henry County and is an honorary deputy in Clayton County. Similarly, the Harris County Sheriff’s office and the U.S. Marshals Office each offered $10,000, while Crime Stoppers Atlanta offered $5,000.