Mississippi grand jury clears police officer who shot, killed Georgia man

Published 9:47 pm Monday, April 5, 2021

A grand jury has cleared a Mississippi police officer who fatally shot a Georgia man outside a home last year.

Grand jurors did not find evidence of criminal conduct by the Gulfport officer who shot 53-year-old Leonard Parker Jr., of Covington, Georgia, on Feb. 1, 2020, WLOX-TV reported.

The officer was walking toward a house from which police had received multiple 911 phone calls when Parker started driving toward him, authorities said. That prompted the officer to fire his weapon, killing Parker, police said.

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The investigation was handled by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations and the Biloxi Police Department.