WARREN (WWJ) -- A former Warren cop accused of killing two men in a car crash has been acquitted of manslaughter.
The unanimous verdict in the case of ex-police officer James Burke was handed down in Macomb County Circuit Court on Thursday.
The rollover crash happened early in the morning of September 30, 2024.
Investigators said Burke was speeding down Schoenherr Rd. in his patrol car when he crashed into an SUV at Prospect Ave., killing two men: 34-year-old Cedric Hayden Jr., and 33-year-old DeJuan Pettis.
Burke was accused of driving at speeds reaching 117 miles per hour in a 40-mile-per-hour zone -- without his lights or siren activated.
The jury heard from an expert witness who testified that if Hayden Jr. had made a proper turn, the high-speed crash would've been avoided.
They also said he was driving drunk at the time of the crash.
Burke's defense presented toxicology results that revealed that Hayden Jr.;s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.
WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton said family members were emotional after the verdict was read.
"As the family of the two people that were killed, as they were leaving, that said kind of a loud bad word: 'BS' — I can say that on the radio. That's what they said," Langton said.
"Listen, this is a very frustrating case. Two people were killed, young people, so I can understand the frustration," Langton said. "But the law is very clear that the prosecution has to prove that this police officer was grossly negligent. It's a fairly tough standard to get through...and the facts just weren't there. There was a lot of contribution by the people that were killed."
Prosecutor Pete Lucido was asked if he was surprised by the outcome of this case.
"There was no sirens, there was no lights, there was nothing," Lucido told WWJ's Darrylin Horne. "Whether we like the law or not is a different subject, but we go ahead and make sure that the law is followed and the judges enforce this law. But, in this case here a jury makes the ultimate call on the verdict."
The men's families filed a $100 million lawsuit in 2024, which is separate from the criminal case.
