Ross Gardner, a crime scene expert, said Atlanta Police Officer Reginald Fisher would have been justified in shooting Tramaine Miller in 2009 if he believed  his life was endanger.

Fisher, 42,  is on trial in Fulton Superior Court for aggravated assault for shooting Miller in the head when he tried to stop him for parking in a handicap space.

Fisher said he mistook the cellphone Miller was holding for a gun. Miller survived. Gardner said a more experienced officer wouldn't  have shot in the circumstances described by Fisher who had been an officer for a short time.

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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney — pictured during a hearing Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 — has cleared the way for Georgia's State Election Board to obtain Fulton ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC