Georgia police officer charged after fatal shooting of 19-year-old
Officials in Georgia have charged a police officer after he fatally shot a 19-year-old handcuffed man as law enforcement investigated the armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier just outside Atlanta.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, in a news release, identified the teen who died as Seth Jayden Eccles of Savannah.
The shooting took place the evening of Tuesday, July 7, near Avondale Estates, a city in the northeastern suburbs of Atlanta.
No officers were injured in the shooting, the GBI said.
DeKalb County Police Department Officer Derrick Harris Jr., 37, has been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless conduct in connection to the teen's death, the GBI announced on Wednesday.
Officer fired 'accidental discharge' while teen was handcuffed
According to preliminary information from police, on the afternoon of the shooting, police had been investigating an armed robbery of the USPS mail carrier.
During the investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) agents spoke with a person of interest in the robbery, later identified as Eccles, the GBI wrote in the release.
After allowing Eccles to walk away, law enforcement later discovered an active arrest warrant for Eccles. It was not immediately known what the teen was wanted for by police at the time.
When they found the teen later that evening, the GBI reported he ran off and hid in a wooded area.
About 7:45 p.m. ET, Harris located Eccles in the backyard of a home and gave him commands at gunpoint.
According to the GBI, Eccles complied, but while being arrested, Harris fired his gun, striking the 19-year-old.
An arrest warrant reviewed by USA TODAY shows the shooting took place as Harris attempted to handcuff Eccles with one hand and his firearm in his other hand behind Eccles back.
The warrant goes onto read, that while the teen was face down on his stomach with his hands behind his back, "Harris had an accidental discharge" resulting in the teen's death.
Eccles was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office will determine the teen's official cause and manner of death, the GBI said.
Georgia police officer to be booked into jail
After conferring with the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, the GBI charged Harris.
As of Thursday, Harris had not been arrested, GBI spokesperon Sara R. Lue told USA TODAY.
Lue said Harris planned to turn himself in on the charges, and once he was in custody, he would be booked into the DeKalb County Jail.
Harris could not be reached by USA TODAY immediately, and on Thursday it was not yet known whether he had retained an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
The case remained under investigation on Thursday, Lue said.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia police officer charged after fatal shooting of 19-year-old
Reporting by Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 9:49 AM.