Ex-Warren cop not guilty verdict in deadly crash leaves one family in shock, other elated

FOX 2 - Former Warren Police Officer James Burke was found not guilty on all charges on Thursday in a double-fatal crash in 2024.

The backstory:

The Macomb County jury found Burke not guilty on all counts just 24 hours after closing arguments. The former cop wept in court as the jury found that he was not guilty on two charges of manslaughter for the 2024 crash that killed Cedric Hayden Jr. and Dejuan Pettis.

Burke was speeding at about 115 miles per hour in his police car seconds before the crash on Schoenherr at Prospect.  He had no lights or siren turned on at the time, because he didn't want to alert the suspect he was going after.

Another big factor was that the defense pointed out Hayden's blood-alcohol level was at .198 which was over double the legal limit.

Hayden's family was left devastated by the jury's decision.

"I’m mad, I'm tired of shedding tears," said Cedric Hayden Sr. "His birthday is coming up next month. His daughter just graduated.   I'm tired of hurting, and this man gets to go home, be with his family, been with him for the last two years, this thing going on. Me and his mother, we got to sit here and suffer with, you know, and the rest of our family too. It's not fair to us."

Theresa Ford, Cedric Hayden's mother also shared her disappointment.

"To me. The trial was for Cedric Junior. It was not for Burke," she said. "They put my son on trial for his own death, and they let the officer go free – well, ex-officer go free. 

"Even though he was speeding, even though he broke the law, even though he did everything wrong that day, they still put it on my son."

The other side:

Meanwhile, James Burke's father spoke to FOX 2 about the decision and his frustration towards the prosecutor's office for charging his son.

"Twelve random people that don’t know my son from anywhere, but they are outstanding Macomb County residents, saw through the outrageous charges against my son and quickly came back with four not guilty verdicts," he said. "The hell my son was put through by the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, the word I keep using is outrageous.

"This is a complete repudiation of what the Macomb county prosecutor has done to my son for the past year and a half. We look forward to him being restored fully to his job at the Warren Police Department."