Jonathan Brown, a police officer in Bristol, Va., was charged with murder this week after shooting and killing Jonethen Kohler, a local resident. Brown, on duty and in uniform, was among officers responding to a "shots fired" call early in the morning on March 30, according to prosecutors. As they searched the area, they spotted Kohler sat in his car, who when questioned refused to exit the vehicle and began to drive away. Brown opened fire, killing him on the spot.
Caldwell, who was appointed by a judge to prosecute the case, said declined to discuss the evidence that his office presented to the grand jury.
"I don't believe in trying cases in the public eye," he told The Associated Press. "The evidence will be presented during trial, and a trier of fact, either a judge or jury, will make a decision."
An attorney for Brown, 31, of Piney Flats, Tennessee, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
A police press release issued the day of the killing implied that Kohler had attempted to run Brown over. No new evidence has been disclosed since, but officials quickly changed their tune—"We do not condone, nor will we tolerate the unnecessary use of force by our police officers," the Mayor said in a statement—and suspended Brown without pay.
