gsvol
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On December 9, 2005, a seven-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department and a former Marine who served in Iraq, was unjustly indicted for crimes. Officer Raymond S. Bund has served his community and country with a clean record for years. He now needs your support. Bunn is married with five children and cannot risk being sent to prison for crimes that he did not commit.
In 2002, Bunn fired two shots at a Chevy Tahoe SUV that was trying to run him down in a parking lot. Corey Ward, the driver was hit once and died instantly. Bunn is being charged with murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and violation of oath. Bunn was only trying to defend himself and his fellow officer.
Officer Raymond Bunn and Officer Terry Mulkey were patrolling a tough nightclub area in Atlanta know as "Buckhead". The bars in this area are open until 4 a.m., and the area experiences many burglaries, car thefts, break-ins, shootings and riotous drunken behavior.
Officer Mulkey was driving and unmarked police car while Officer Bunn was sitting in the passenger seat. They went into a parking lot and observed several vehicles at the back of the lot. They two officers then heard the breaking of car window and then an alarm go off.
Suspecting a car theft was in progress, the two officers parked the car and before getting out, they made sure that their flashing blue lights were on in the rear and front of their vehicle to identify themselves as police officers. The two officers were wearing pullover shirts with the words "Atlanta Police" in bold on the front and the back. Also, they were both wearing chains around their necks that secured their Atlanta Police badges.
A black male, Jamal Smith, was then seen jumping through the shattered window of a Buick Grand National SUV. Bunn and Mulkey got out of their police car, and shouted "police, police stop" as Smith then proceeded to jump out of the Buick and then into the back of a Chevy Tahoe SUV.
Driving the Chevy Tahoe SUV was Corey Ward. The two police officers stood about 25 feet in front of the vehicle, their weapons drawn, and again shouted, "Police stop, Police stop".
Bunn and Mulkey then started to approach the vehicle. Corey Ward put the car into reverse, came to an abrupt stop and the two officers came closer. Ward then punched the gas pedal and came speeding towards the officers. The officer's vehicle was sitting at a right angle with its front facing the Chevy Tahoe. The Chevy Tahoe was bearing straight down at the front right side of the cruiser. Officer Mulkey was on the driver's side and escaped to a position on the left front of the driver's side.
Officer Bunn was trapped between the front right side of the cruiser and the approaching Chevy Tahoe. When the SUV was about 6-8 feet away, Bunn jumped out of the way and in self defense, fired his service revolver at the driver. Bunn was seriously injured when his knee was caught between the left front on the SUV and the right front of the cruiser. Corey Ward was hit in the head by one bullet and died instantly.
Officer Mulkey confirmed that Officer Bunn fired his weapon before being hit by the Chevy Tahoe. The two officers stories were identical to one another. They both believe that their lives were in danger.
Officer Bunn was indicted on December 9, 2005 by a Fulton County grand jury. Manny Arora of the firm Garland Samuel and Loeb represents Officer Bunn.
LELDF supports Bunn and wants to help in any way we can. We believe that he has been wrongly accused of these crimes.
LELDF is the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund. Our organization's main focus is to assist law enforcement officers when it is necessary for them to defend actions taken in the line of duty to enforce the law.
The two officers clearly identified themselves as police officers. The two other occupants in the car, Jamal Smith and Rodriguez Brown say that they heard the officers identify themselves, saw their badges and saw the flashing police lights in the cruiser.
Corey Ward had over two ounces of cocaine in his pocket and a large knife was between the driver and passenger seats. There were also seven bags of marijuana discovered in the car along with two stolen cell phones, one from that same parking lot.
It is reasonable to conclude that Ward feared being caught with the cocaine and deliberately chose to go at the officers in an attempt to run them down and escape. There was plenty of room for Ward to drive out of the parking lot and avoid the officers.
A study of the incident showed that the car was traveling 26 MPH 5 seconds before the crash and at 14 MPH one second before the impact with Officer Bunn and the police cruiser. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) made an analysis of the trajectory of the bullets. The GBI determined that the distance between Officer Bunn and the Chevy Tahoe was less than five feet when the shots were fired.
The regulation in effect for use of force in July 2002 for the Atlanta P.D. provided that "an employee shall only use necessary force against another person to effect an arrest, prevent an escape...or defend himself or another from physical assault."
Officer Bunn was not breaking any rules of the Atlanta P.D. Corey Ward was using the vehicle as a dangerous weapon against the two officers.
Bunn was only trying to defend himself and Officer Mulkey the way he was taught how. He was also trying to protect the public from these three men who could have been dangerous if they had gotten away.
The two officers truly believed that they were in imminent danger and Bunn acted in the best interest of himself and the public. Any officer would not have reacted differently if a suspect was pointing a firearm at them. A Chevy Tahoe at 25 MPH is deadly.
Officer Bunn has an excellent record. He does not deserve to be put through this while he has a wife and five children waiting at home.
Raymond Bunn is a police officer and a veteran who has served his community and country for over seven years. He needs to know that we appreciate his hard work and sacrifices.
Officer Bunn put his life on the line to protect his community. We need to show him that we support his efforts.
LELDF is asking you to please help support Officer Bunn by giving a gift of $25, $50, or any amount that you can afford. This gift of any amount is tax deductible.
Any donation that you give will have a great impact on the lives of Officer Bunn and his family.
Many thanks you for your support.
Sincerely,
David H. Martin
Chairman
