Trial beginning for ex-Warren police officer after deadly high-speed crash
Warren Police Officer James Burke
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - The trial is set to begin this week for a former Warren police officer charged with manslaughter for a high-speed crash that killed two men in 2024.
Jury selection starts Tuesday morning for James Burke's trial.
Burke is charged with two counts of manslaughter, moving violation causing serious impairment of body function, and willful neglect of duty.
The backstory:
Burke was allegedly driving around 117 mph on Schoenherr on Sept. 30, 2024, when he hit an SUV occupied by Cedric Hayden Jr. and Dejuan Pettis as they turned. His lights and sirens were not activated at the time.
According to previous testimony in the case, Warren police will sometimes chase suspects without lights and sirens so the suspects don't know they are being chased. At the time of the deadly crash, Burke was allegedly chasing a driver who was more than a mile away, and there was no evidence that it was a suspected stolen vehicle like he had claimed.
Burke was fired from the Warren Police Department in December 2024.
Testimony: Ex-Warren cop speeding at 117 mph at time of fatal crash that killed men
Upon impact Hayden and Pettis' vehicle went airborne for more than 50 feet, according to a crash reconstructionist on the stand.
The Source: Previous reporting was used in this story.