Police officer charged with murder.

Former Atlanta Police Department Officer Raymond S. Bunn was indicted on December 9, 2005 by a Fulton County County grand jury supervised by District Attorney Paul L. Howard.

Officer Bunn was charged with Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Violation of Oath.

The indictment arises from an incident that occurred three years earlier in the early morning of July 14, 2002 at a parking lot on Peachtree Road in Atlanta. Officer Bunn fired two shots at a Chevy Tahoe SUV that was trying to run him down in the parking lot; the driver of the vehicle, Corey Ward, was hit once in the head and died instantly. Murder and Felony Murder are capital offenses in Georgia. Officer Bunn was a seven-year veteran of the Atlanta P. D.

Following the incident Officer Bunn, a former Marine, was called for duty in Iraq by his National Guard Unit. He served in Iraq from February 2003 until January 2004 when he retuned to the Atlanta P. D. In July 2004 he resigned from the Atlanta P. D., taking a position with the Triple Canopy Security firm. In April 2005 he began work with the Blackwater Security Company providing security for Department of State personnel in Iraq. He has one prior incident involving use of force. In this same tough area of Atlanta, Officer Bunn was on patrol and asked the driver of a Jeep Cherokee to turn the stereo radio down so he could be heard. The driver, a female exited the car, and attacked Officer Bunn, striking and scratching him. Officer Bunn, in defense, struck her once and gave her a black eye. He was later exonerated of claims of racism and police brutality. He has an excellent record as an officer. He is 37 years old, married with five children. No trial date has been set.

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