A Georgia state trooper was fired and charged on Friday after killing Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis, a 60-year-old Black man who was driving in a rural area.

According to The Associated Press, the incident happened on Aug. 7 in rural Screven County, Georgia. That's where 27-year-old Jacob Gordon Thompson stopped the driver because of a burned-out taillight. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Thompson was attempting to pull over the driver, but Lewis tried to flee and drove into a ditch as he was being chased. Thompson then shot and killed the man, the agency said in a statement.

BREAKING | 60-yr old Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis of Sylvania, Ga was murdered on AUG 07 by a GSP trooper after an alleged minor traffic offense. #JusticeForJulian
pic.twitter.com/XteN77JAgH

— Georgia NAACP (@Georgia_NAACP) August 12, 2020

Attorney Francys Johnson, who is representing Lewis’ family, said the 60-year-old was shot almost immediately after the officer forced him to drive into a ditch.

“Mr. Lewis never got out of the vehicle and the investigation will show that, mere seconds after the crash, he was shot to death, shot in the face and killed,” Johnson said.

The former deputy had been a trooper for the Georgia State Patrol since 2013. Thompson’s attorney, Keith Barber, said the former officer “has an excellent character.”

“I think he’s a fine trooper,” Barber said. “I think at the end of the day he will be exonerated in this case.”

Johnson said Lewis’ wife, Betty, was relieved when she heard about Thompson's arrest.

“She fell to her knees," the attorney said. “She said, 'This is a step towards justice.’”

Lewis, who worked as a carpenter, recently finished a construction project for a local ministry. According to Johnson, Betty said her husband didn't own a gun.

“He was not a perfect member of the Lewis family,” the attorney said. “But as his wife said, `He was too good to die the way he did.’”

Rev. James Woodall, president of the Georgia NAACP, said “no one should have to bury a loved one simply because of a busted taillight.”

“This was a case of racial profiling. We are not necessarily happy right now," Woodall said. "Yes, the man was arrested, but we’re done dying.”

As protesters around the country continue to express their outrage over the senseless killings of Black men and women, Georgia has seen a number of high-profile cases. In the case of Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed as he ran through a neighborhood, three white men are facing charges, as Blavity previously reported. Garrett Rolfe is also facing charges in Atlanta for killing Rayshard Brooks, who was shot after he tried to flee a DUI arrest, as Blavity previously reported.

Thompson is charged with felony murder and aggravated assault.

According to USA Today, Lewis' friends and family in Sylvania, Georgia, held a vigil on Friday. Betty, who wore a picture of Lewis on her t-shirt during the vigil, described the 60-year-old as a "kind soul."

"He was a people person. He would take his shirt off for you,” she said.

The grieving wife urged for accountability from law enforcement.

“We need more from a public servant who is supposed to help,” she said.

Screven County, Georgia

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