A grand jury on Wednesday indicted a former Atlanta police officer for murder and other counts in the death of an unarmed black man.
The Fulton County grand jury indicted James Burns on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, making a false statement and two counts of violation of oath of office in the June 22 killing of 22-year-old Deravis Caine Rogers, according to defense attorney Drew Findling. Burns has been out on bond since his arrest.
Burns was responding to a call about a suspicious person. Prosecutors said Burns fired into Rogers’ vehicle, even though Burns wasn’t in danger and had no way to identify Rogers as the reported suspicious person.
Atlanta police Chief George Turner fired Burns July 1 after an internal investigation determined Burns used unnecessary and excessive force.
