BYRON, Ga. — A Peach County grand jury indicted James Carroll, a former Byron police officer, nearly a year after Carroll shot a suspect during a chase.
The shooting happened in a McDonald's parking lot, as Carroll responded to a stolen car report. According an initial release from GBI, suspect Kory Karpich crashed into the McDonald's; Carroll then fired shots and drove into Macon-Bibb County.
"He tried to get away from Officer Carroll by my view of it, to drive through McDonald's, when he crashed into the building," Byron Police Chief Wesley Cannon said.
In a statement, Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita Howard's office wrote "...based on concerns raised by the GBI's investigation, our office could not establish the sufficient and unequivocal legal grounds necessary to justify this shooting and clear the officer by letter."
Based on those concerns, a grand jury voted to indict Carroll; now he's been charged with violation of oath by a public officer and aggravated assault.
"The dash cam and the body cam footage along with his report and in my interview with him and that determination came pretty quickly in this and I stand behind it 100%," Cannon said.
GBI reported, Carroll asked Karpich to get out of the stolen car, he refused so Carroll busted into a car window and deployed his tazer on Karpich, which was ineffective; Carroll fired his gun, injuring Karpich.
Federal policy, such as the Department of Justice's, prevents officers from shooting at a fleeing vehicle unless there's a threat to safety. It differs by jurisdiction but Cannon says it's not their policy.
"I think you have to be real, very careful when you have policies like that because it might prohibit someone from potentially using force necessary to protect themselves or others," Cannon said.
Cannon would not tell 13WMAZ if Karpich drove in Carroll's direction but says he believes Karpich intentionally drove into McDonald's.
Despite the indictment, Carroll is still employed by the city of Byron full-time, as a firefighter.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety policy states any use of force by an officer must be objectively reasonable, meaning the officer is allowed to defend themselves and others from death of bodily injury.