A man shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer was unarmed, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Friday.
Deravis Rogers, who police said tried to break into a car in Midtown late Wednesday, was shot in the head as he drove away despite police orders to stop.
“During the investigation of the scene,” GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said, “evidence was recovered inside the vehicle including a magazine for a handgun; however, no handgun was located. There has been no indication that Rogers used a weapon during the incident.”
The GBI is investigating the shooting, which is standard protocol.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News conducted a year-long investigation and found police shot and killed 185 people in Georgia from 2010 to 2015. Nearly half of those people were unarmed or shot in the back, the investigation found.
In the most recent case, an off-duty Atlanta police officer who was serving as a courtesy officer at the Monroe Place Apartments reported a “suspicious person” trying to break into a car about 11:52 p.m., the GBI said.
He ran after Rogers, but was unable to catch him. Rogers got in a silver car believed to belong to an associate and encountered an on-duty officer, Miles said.
That officer, whose name was not released, fired his weapon. It was not clear Friday what prompted the officer to shoot. Officers may use their service weapons when they believe they or others are in danger of serious injury or death, but it was not known if Rogers tried to drive toward the officer.
Rogers drove a short distance before crashing into an SUV parked at the Cirque Daiquiri Bar and Grill. He was taken by ambulance to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he later died, police said.
He was 22 years old.
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