Officer James Burns was fired after killing a black man in Atlanta
Atlanta’s film industry is exploding. People from all over the country are moving to the ATL in hopes of launching an acting career, movie career, or joining the entertainment industry. That’s why this next piece of news is so shocking.
According WSB-TV, officer James Burns fatally shot a man suspected of breaking into a car more in Midtown-Atlanta, Georgia.
The shooting occurred on June 22nd in the parking lot of Monroe Place apartments off of Piedmont Road, just a few miles from Piedmont Park, where a black man was found dead hanging from a tree. It all started when an off-duty police officer, working security at this apartment complex, called in for backup after he spotted a man breaking into a car. When Burns arrived on the scene, he said he spotted Deravis Caine Rogers. According to the police officer, Rogers jumped into a car and tried to drive away when Burns opened fire and shot Rogers in the head. From WSB-TV:
Police said the evidence suggests the officer fired his gun without really knowing who was in the car and when he opened fire, he violated the department’s policy.
“The person was already in the car when the officer arrived on the scene. The vehicle was already in motion,” Pickard said.
Following an investigation, Burns was fired. “We know the officer did not ID the person in the vehicle” Sgt. Warren Pickard told WSB-TV. According to the investigation, the Atlanta police officer used “unneccessary and unreasonable” force.
“We have not been able to determine that this was an aggressive situation, we have not been able to determine if the person that was shot posed any immediate threat to the officer,” Pickard said.
This news comes after protests erupted across Atlanta following the police shooting and death of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. In fact, rapper, actor, and entrepreneur Clifford ‘T.I.’ Harris joined the 10,000 protestors in Atlanta, Georgia and rallied for change across the country.
Via WSB-TV
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