Officer acquitted in black man’s killing

WOODBINE, Ga. — A former Georgia police officer who fatally shot a fleeing, unarmed black man was acquitted Saturday of voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.

The jury, however, found Zechariah Presley guilty of violation of oath of office in the death of Tony Green.

Presley was ordered to be jailed pending sentencing Oct. 18. He faces a prison term of one to five years.

Though Presley’s body camera recorded his fatal encounter with Green, darkness and something covering the camera lens obscured the shooting and the moments leading up to it. That left the jury to weigh Presley’s court testimony recalling what had occurred with a sometimes conflicting account by prosecutors and investigators.

Presley said he followed Green’s car that night because he believed Green was driving with a suspended license. Dashboard camera video showed Green drive the car off the road, then open the door and run. He briefly returned to the vehicle to grab an unseen object, then fled again.

Presley chased Green on foot down a darkened street. A short struggle followed that’s not visible on the video. The recording picked up the electrified clicking sound from Presley’s Taser, followed by eight gunshots.

Another officer arrives afterward to find Presley lying on the ground. Presley says Green had been on top of him, trying to grab his Taser.

An autopsy found Green was struck by eight bullets — one in his chest, the rest in his back and hips.