DeKalb officer charged after fatally shooting teen during arrest, GBI says

A DeKalb County police officer has been charged, accused of fatally shooting a 19-year-old man during a Tuesday evening arrest, the GBI said.

Derrick Harris Jr., 37, has since been terminated from the police department and will be booked into the DeKalb jail, the agency said. He faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct.

In a statement Wednesday evening, DeKalb CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson called the death a tragedy and said the county remains committed to transparency and integrity. Harris first joined DeKalb police in 2014 before voluntarily resigning in 2020, Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records show. He returned to the department in March of this year.

“We understand no one is above the law and that accountability is essential to maintaining public trust,” Cochran-Johnson said.

The shooting stemmed from a police investigation into an armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier.

Authorities first spoke with the shooting victim, Seth Jayden Eccles, as part of that investigation Tuesday afternoon. Police determined Eccles was a person of interest in the case, but he was allowed to walk away after speaking with U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents, the GBI said.

Law enforcement later discovered Eccles had an active warrant for his arrest. The GBI did not provide details on that warrant.

USPIS agents and DeKalb officers again located Eccles, who ran away and hid in a nearby wooded area, the GBI said. While searching for Eccles, the GBI said 911 calls came in around 7 p.m. about a “suspicious person moving through the backyards of homes” in the Avondale Estates area.

About 45 minutes later, the state agency said officer Harris located Eccles in a backyard and gave him verbal commands at gunpoint.

“Eccles complied with Officer Harris’ commands. Officer Harris then took Eccles into custody. During the arrest, Officer Harris fired his gun, hitting Eccles,” according to the GBI.

Officers and emergency personnel provided life-saving efforts at the scene before Eccles was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, the agency confirmed.

An autopsy will be performed by the DeKalb medical examiner’s office.

DeKalb police confirmed in a statement that they were aware of the arrest.

“This incident has had a profound impact on everyone involved. My thoughts and prayers remain with the family of Seth Jayden Eccles as they continue to grieve this tragic loss,” DeKalb police Chief Greg Padrick said.