The Georgia Composite Medical Board has suspended the license of a former physician accused of shooting at SWAT officers from his residence at the Four Seasons Midtown in Atlanta.
Jay Berger, a 70-year-old ophthalmologist, was going through a medical crisis when he fired shots through the walls and off the balcony of his 14th Street condominium in late October, officials said.
During the board’s investigation, Berger told them something had been “wrong” for about 13-14 years, according to an order of summary suspension obtained Thursday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He told a board investigator that he needed psychiatric care and suffered from memory loss, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the order stated.
In their Nov. 13 decision, the board said his continued practice as a physician required emergency action and posed a threat to public health, safety and welfare. His license to practice medicine in Georgia was then “summarily suspended,” after the board’s executive director signed the order.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
During the hours-long standoff Oct. 29, Berger flooded his unit and warned police not to get closer before he fired roughly 120 rounds from an AK-47 at responding SWAT officers, one of whom was struck by a bullet fragment, according to the order.
After being shot in the head by a SWAT sniper, Berger returned fire and damaged the windows of a nearby hotel, his arrest warrant stated. No one else was injured.
The complex’s resident manager, who originally confronted Berger outside his condo, said the man was known for having mental health issues, weapons in his unit and Nazi paraphernalia, according to a 911 call.
He was eventually apprehended and taken to the hospital for his injuries. Berger spent time in the Fulton County Jail before a county Magistrate Court judge granted him a $101,000 bond Nov. 26.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
According to the order, the board can discipline someone if they are unable to practice “with reasonable skill and safety to patients” due to illness, drugs/alcohol or as a result of a mental or physical condition.
Berger faces 11 felony counts, including four counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer.
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