A former Atlanta police officer facing a felony murder charge in the shooting death of an unarmed black man was booked Saturday into the Fulton County jail, a jail spokeswoman said.
James R. Burns, 34, was on duty when he shot and killed motorist Deravis Caine Rogers outside a northeast Atlanta apartment complex June 22, police said. Burns was fired July 1 after an internal affairs investigation concluded that he used excessive force
Burns is being held without bond and is scheduled to appear before a judge Monday, Fulton County sheriff’s spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said. He faces one count each of felony murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of violation of his oath of office. An attorney for Burns did not return requests for comment.
The warrant, which was issued Friday by Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, was unusual for an officer-involved shooting because prosecutors typically wait until a grand jury meets to weigh the evidence. This case may also be one of the first to test a law that took effect earlier this month that curtails special grand jury privilleges Georgia law gave officers, such as the ability to testify without cross-examination.
Howard said he moved forward with the warrant because of evidence from witnesses, video and the results of a police internal investigation.
The charges come as communities across the country are reeling after the release of videos showing the shooting deaths of black men at the hands of police. Protesters have marched in Atlanta and other cities demanding more accountability for officers.
Rogers, 22, was fatally wounded at the Monroe Place apartments after an off-duty officer there reported a suspicious person, investigators said. When Burns arrived at the scene, he saw a 2011 silver Ford Fusion turn on its lights and start to drive away. Rogers was behind the wheel.
Burns tried to block the Ford with his patrol vehicle, but Rogers maneuvered around it, investigators said.
That’s when Burns jumped from his vehicle, yelled “stop” and shot through the Ford’s passenger side window. Rogers was hit in the lower right side of his head and pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital. The Ford traveled into a nearby parking lot where it hit another vehicle.
Burns told Atlanta police investigators that Rogers tried to run him over.
An internal investigation found that officers on the scene, including Burns, didn’t know if Rogers was the suspect they were seeking. An agency spokesman recently told the AJC that there is no evidence of actual car break-ins in the complex or any evidence linking Rogers to criminal activity that night.
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