DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia police officer has been fired and charged after negligently discharging his weapon and fatally shooting a 19-year-old, ABC News reported.
Now-former DeKalb County Police officer Derrick Harris Jr., 37, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct after fatally shooting Seth Jayden Eccles on July 7.
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Officers were searching for Eccles on an active arrest warrant after he had earlier been questioned by U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents regarding the armed robbery of a mail carrier. Residents in the Avondale Estates area reported seeing a suspicious person moving through backyards.
Responding to those calls, Harris located Eccles and arrested him at gunpoint, ABC reported. Eccles complied with instructions and was reportedly lying on the ground on his stomach when Harris attempted to take him into custody.
Harris was allegedly holding a gun to Eccles’s back with one hand while working with handcuffs in his other hand.
“During the process of attempting to handcuff Eccles, Harris accidentally fired his firearm,” the GBI arrest warrant affidavit stated. “This accidental discharge resulted in the injury and death of Eccles.”
Eccles was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, ABC reported.
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