GBI Charges DeKalb County Police Officer with Manslaughter Following Fatal Shooting

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. A DeKalb County police officer has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct after a 19-year-old man was fatally shot during an arrest Tuesday evening, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The GBI said Officer Derrick Harris Jr., 37, was charged after investigators consulted with the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office. The shooting claimed the life of Seth Jayden Eccles, 19, of Savannah. No officers were injured.

According to the GBI, the incident began in the early afternoon of July 7 as the DeKalb County Police Department investigated the armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier. U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents interviewed Eccles, who had been identified as a person of interest in the robbery investigation, and allowed him to leave after the interview.

Investigators later discovered Eccles had an active arrest warrant. U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents and DeKalb County officers located him again, but Eccles ran into a wooded area, prompting a search.

At approximately 7 p.m., DeKalb County 911 received reports of a suspicious person moving through backyards on Rammel Way in Avondale Estates. About 45 minutes later, Harris located Eccles in the backyard of a home and ordered him at gunpoint to comply.

The GBI said Eccles followed Harris’ commands and was taken into custody. During the arrest, Harris discharged his firearm, striking Eccles.

DeKalb County officers and emergency medical personnel provided life-saving measures at the scene before Eccles was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Eccles’ body will be taken to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

The GBI said Harris will be booked into the DeKalb County Jail once he is taken into custody.

The investigation remains ongoing. After it is completed, the GBI will submit its case file to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution and review.