Georgia Tech officer who fatally shot student sworn in 16 months ago
ATLANTA — The Georgia Tech Police officer who fatally shot a student on campus Saturday night was sworn in 16 months ago.
Officer Tyler Beck, along with another yet-unidentified officer, responded to a 911 call about a person carrying a knife and possibly a gun on campus.
In the 911 call, Scout Schultz, 21, described the person lurking around as a white male with long, blonde hair, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
“There looks like there's somebody, like skulking around outside — looks like he's got ... he's got a knife in his hand. I think he might have a gun on his hip. Looks like he might be drunk or something,” Schultz told the 911 operator.
Beck and the other officer arrived on the scene and made contact with the person, who turned out to be Schultz.
More: Georgia Tech student called 911, wrote suicide notes before death
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The officers said Schultz, who a family lawyer said had a history of mental health issues, refused to comply with their commands. As Schultz continued to advance towards them, Beck fired one shot, striking Schultz, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting.
Schultz was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead.
Listen: Georgia Tech student shot by police called 911: ‘He might have a gun on his hip'
Beck was sworn in with the university’s police department in May 2016, two months after starting the school’s police academy.
According to Georgia Tech Police’s Facebook page, Beck started as a public safety officer with the Community Outreach and Engagement (CORE) Unit, in summer 2015. He received the top driver award during the police academy’s week-long emergency vehicle operations course.
According to the GBI, three suicide notes were found in Schultz's dorm room. No gun was recovered, but a multipurpose tool with knife was found on the scene outside a dorm on 8th Street.
Schultz was a fourth-year computer engineering student and president of Georgia Tech's Pride Alliance. Schultz's parents have questioned the officer's use of lethal force and have hired an attorney to represent them.
Monday night three people were arrested after a vigil for Schultz turned violent.
Vincent Castellenti, Jacob Wilson and Cassandra Monden were booked into the Fulton County Jail and will make their first appearance before a judge on Wednesday morning on various charges.
Georgia Tech President G.P. Peterson released a letter Tuesday afternoon commending the 500 people from the school who attended the vigil coordinated by the Pride Alliance and the Progressive Student Alliance. Peterson said there were "several dozen others intent on creating a disturbance and inciting violence. We believe many of them were not part of our Georgia Tech community, but rather outside agitators intent on disrupting the event."
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