A former Atlanta police officer charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man made his first appearance in court on Monday.
James Burns faces charges of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and violation of his oath of office in connection with the 22 June shooting of 22-year-old Deravis Caine Rogers.
Burns had responded to a call at the Monroe Place Apartments in midtown Atlanta, to assist an off-duty police officer who said he saw a suspicious person he thought had been breaking into cars, who then ran away from him.
Rogers had been at the steering wheel of a nearby car and was shot after attempting to drive past the patrol car. Burns fired a single gunshot which struck Rogers in the head. The shooting itself was not captured on dashcam video.
Atlanta police chief George Turner fired Burns on 1 July after an internal investigation determined Burns used unnecessary and excessive force.
“You did not have reasonable suspicion that the driver of the vehicle engaged in, or was about to engage in, criminal activity,” Turner said in his memo. “Yet rather than allow the driver to drive past you, you exited your vehicle and ultimately prevented the driver from driving away through the use of deadly force.”
A spokesman for the police department said there was no evidence of car break-ins at the apartment complex or that Rogers was involved in any criminal activity.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Burns appeared before a judge Monday for a formal reading of the charges, two days after he turned himself in, after prosecutors issued arrest warrants.
Burns will remain in jail at least until a preliminary hearing on 1 August, according to the AJC.
