Grand jury clears Mississippi officer who killed Georgia man

GULFPORT, Miss. – 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.

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