Grand Jury clears Alexander City officer in March 2013 shooting

An Alexander City police officer will not be prosecuted after a Tallapoosa County grand jury found him not at fault for the March shooting death of a man at a Huddle House restaurant.  District Attorney E. Paul Jones said Wednesday that a grand jury found Officer Tommy Maness not at fault for the shooting death of Emerson Crayton Jr. at a Huddle House early in the morning of March 8.  Authorities said in March that an officer was sent to a fight outside the restaurant and one man got in his vehicle and tried to flee the scene, driving toward the officer, who fired.  At a news conference, Jones presented video -- which had been presented to the grand jury -- showing the officer approaching the Huddle House to respond to the disturbance and knocking on the outside of a vehicle that a restaurant employee pointed out. The officer also yelled for the driver to stop. The vehicle then accelerated toward the officer, and the officer fired.  Jones said he wanted to release the evidence to combat allegations of racism on the officer's part. He said the officer followed policy and chose to take action to protect his own life.  The mother of Crayton's 2-year-old daughter has filed a civil lawsuit for wrongful death against the officer, the city of Alexander City, and the owners and manager of the Huddle House.