St. Clair County District Attorney Richard Minor has recused his office from prosecuting a case involving a Pell City man shot by a police officer last year.

Etowah County’s District Attorney’s Office will prosecute the case after the family requested that the St. Clair D.A. disqualify his office from the case.

Recusal is sometimes sought when participation in a decision on grounds such as prejudice or personal involvement may be involved.

In a letter Minor wrote in December to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office late last year, he said he “received a letter on behalf of the family of Barry Bush asking our office to recuse in all matters related to this shooting. Based on this request, my office’s participation in the drafting of the search warrant and my desire to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, I am recusing my office in this matter.”

Alabama Attorney General Troy King’s Office granted the request from the St. Clair D.A. and appointed Etowah County District Attorney Jimmie Harp’s office to handle the case.

“During this assignment, Mr. Harp will have all the authority of a district attorney of this circuit and may perform such duties that are necessary in connection with this [case],” Donald G. Valeska II, Assistant Attorney General, who oversees the state’s violent crimes division, wrote in a reply to Minor.

41-year-old Barry Bush was fatally shot in the head after Pell City authorities tried to serve a search warrant at his home in the Shadydale Mobile Home Park in November of last year.

The original search warrant obtained by the Pell City Police Department and filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court alleged that illegal drugs were being sold at Bush’s residence.

After Bush’s home was searched, the inventory filed with the St. Clair Circuit Court by the Alabama Bureau of Investigations listed the items found and seized at the residence including: two bags of green-brown plant material, a pistol, a rifle, one cartridge casing and $100 in cash.