Richmond County deputy has surgery for injuries from shooting

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A Richmond County deputy underwent surgery Monday after being shot in the face last week, according to his sister.

The surgery will start the long recovery process for Michael Cole.

He’s doing great so far, but is in still in pain, his sister told News 12.

Cole and another deputy were sent early Thursday to a home in the 2200 block of Bungalow Road. They were met by a suspect who started shooting, according to authorities.

“We are just going to take it day by day and thankful for all the support that we have received from RCSO,” his sister Kyla Cole said last week.

She described her brother, age 25 and with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for five years, a fearless, strong, heroic, and knowledgeable officer who always puts others’ safety and best interest first.

“He loves his job and serving his community,” she said last week. “He’s talked about being a cop since we were kids.”

There’s been an outpouring of community support for the deputy.

Authorities say he was responding to a disturbance call at a home when he was shot by Vernon Cratic Jr., 34, of Augusta.

Cratic was charged with five counts of aggravated assault upon a peace officer, one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of burglary in the second degree, according to jail records.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident.

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