ATLANTA — A Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority police officer is facing charges following an on-duty crash that left one person dead earlier this year.
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Investigators say former MARTA Police Officer Deion Alexander surrendered at the Fulton County Jail on Wednesday, where Channel 2 Action News cameras were there as he walked inside with his attorney.
Alexander is accused of killing a pedestrian while responding to a call on Feb. 2.
According to officials, MARTA Police Officer Deion Alexander was charged Wednesday in connection with the Feb. 2 crash.
The impact injured several people, including a passenger, a pedestrian, and three officers. The pedestrian later died from their injuries.
Alexander now faces multiple charges, including homicide by vehicle in the first degree, reckless driving, unsafe operation of an emergency vehicle, and failure to obey traffic control devices.
His attorney, Max Schardt, says Alexander plans to plead not guilty.
“This is a tragic accident. Mr. Alexander has no criminal liability,” Schardt told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne.
Schardt says Alexander was responding to a distress call from a female officer at the station when another car struck his patrol vehicle, causing it to spin and hit the pedestrian, identified as Mr. Bush.
However, an Atlanta police legal document paints a different picture.
According to the document, an officer noted that in just 93 seconds, Alexander drove through 11 red lights. It also states traffic cameras show he entered the intersection at North Avenue and Peachtree Street against a red light and drove into oncoming traffic.
MARTA Police Chief Scott Kreher says emergency lights and sirens do not give officers unlimited authority on the road.
“Just having the blue lights and sirens on doesn’t give you carte blanche to run through an intersection without slowing down or yielding,” Kreher said.
MARTA confirmed Alexander was terminated on Tuesday following an internal investigation.
Records also reveal Alexander had prior disciplinary issues before the crash.
According to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, which oversees police certification in the state, Alexander was placed on probation multiple times. In 2019, he was stopped driving 147 miles per hour in his personal vehicle. In 2021, he was arrested for loitering at a street racing event.
His certification was placed on probation again in 2022, a status that was set to expire later this year.
Despite that history, officials say Alexander had no known disciplinary or traffic violations after being rehired by MARTA in 2022 until the February crash.
Schardt argues Alexander’s past record is not relevant to this case and says he had already arranged a bond. Alexander was released from jail within about 90 minutes of being processed.
The Atlanta Police Department is continuing to investigate the crash.
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In a statement, Krehe said the department is grieving the incident.
“The entire MARTA Police Department is saddened by this traffic event,” Krehe said. “Police work is always difficult, but we also have a responsibility to keep the public safe when doing our work. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved.”
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