GBI Investigates Officer Involved Shooting in White County, GA 

Cleveland, Georgia (October 8, 2023) - The GBI is investigating an officer involved shooting in Cleveland, Georgia. The White County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI to conduct an independent investigation on October 7, 2023. One man was shot during an encounter with deputies. No officers were injured. 

Preliminary information indicates that on Saturday, October 7, 2023, at around 11:00 a.m., a White County Sheriff’s deputy saw a Penske box truck traveling on Highway 115 West. The truck’s back door was up, and the driver, later identified as Alan Paul Heinze, age 53, of Cleveland, GA, was driving erratically. Deputies attempted to stop the truck, but Heinze did not comply. The deputies chased Heinze onto Helen Highway where they continued to try to stop the truck. Heinze hit a White County patrol car, disabling it. Deputies attempted to box the truck in, unsuccessfully. During this encounter, deputies shot Heinze. The chase continued until a deputy forced the truck off the road at Jack P. Nix Elementary School in Cleveland, GA. Heinze was taken into custody and treated by White County Emergency Services.   

Heinze was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released. Heinze was then taken to the White County Detention Center where he was booked for two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.   

This case is active and ongoing. Once completed, the case will be provided to the Enotah Judicial Circuit for prosecution.