A former Philadelphia police officer has been charged with criminal homicide for fatally shooting a man twice in the back last summer.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced Tuesday that his office has charged Ryan Pownall with criminal homicide, possession of an instrument of crime and recklessly endangering another person in connection with the fatal June 2017 shooting of David Jones. The charges come after a grand jury investigation, which recommended charging Pownall in the shooting.

Criminal homicide is a general charge that could include first-degree murder, but Krasner did not give the gradation for the charge.

“The question is is it a first-degree murder charge. The short answer is yes,” Krasner said during a press conference Tuesday. “The long answer is, it is a charge of homicide generally, which means, as it is frequently done, the charge is of all the different levels of homicide that are applicable; and as sometimes there will be a decision made later to pursue some and not others, but at this point it charges all the levels of homicide.”

According to the presentment, Pownall, a white officer, had shot Jones, a black man, twice in the back after a scuffle broke out between the two and after Jones had tossed a firearm he had been carrying.

The indictment, according to Krasner, marks the first time in nearly 20 years that a Philadelphia police officer has been charged over a fatal shooting.

“We are applying justice evenhandedly today and we will continue to do so moving forward,” Krasner said. “But we are also doing something that is regrettably unusual in the history of the city of Philadelphia because this is a city, like many other American cities, where there has not been accountability for activity by police officers in uniform, especially when that activity involves violence against civilians.”

The decision is all but certain to also inflame tensions between the DA's office and the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, which has a contentious history with Krasner.

In an emailed press statement following Krasner's announcement, FOP president John McNesby called the charging decision “an absolute disgrace.”

“Today's meritless indictment clearly illustrates DA Krasner's anti-law-enforcement agenda,” McNesby said. “We promise a vigorous defense and expect Officer Pownall to be cleared of all charges and get his job back protecting the community.”

According to the grand jury presentment, Pownall had been transporting witnesses to be interviewed about another crime when he saw Jones walking his dirt bike in a parking lot in the Juniata section of Philadelphia. Pownall stopped Jones, frisked him, and felt a firearm on Jones' person, the presentment said.

According to the presentment, “details about what happened next vary,” but all witnesses agreed that a scuffle ensued. The presentment said Pownall tried to shoot Jones, but his gun jammed, and, after Jones “broke free from Pownall,” Jones ran back toward a nearby intersection where cars were stopped or slowing for a red light.

The presentment said video from the scene showed Jones' hands were empty and that he “never turned or gestured in a threatening manner toward Pownall as he ran.” Pownall, the presentment said, fired at least three shots, hitting Jones twice in the back.

According to the presentment, a gun was found about 20 feet from the site of the scuffle, in the opposite direction from where Jones had fled. Pownall also told fellow officers that Jones had thrown the gun, the presentment said.

During a press conference Tuesday, Krasner said Pownall was also charged with recklessly endangering another person because he fired shots in the direction of other cars.

Krasner said that, along with the grand jury investigation, his office also conducted a separate investigation, which included reviewing police paperwork and video footage.

Along with being one of the rare instances where a police officer is charged over a shooting, the case also has an unusual procedural history.

The shooting occurred only a few weeks before former District Attorney Seth Williams resigned following a bribery conviction. When interim District Attorney Kelley Hodge took over after Williams, the DA's Office referred the case out to the state Attorney General's Office due to a potential conflict involving Hodge. The AG's Office, however, referred the case back to the Philadelphia DA's Office in January after Krasner was sworn in.

According to Krasner, Assistant District Attorney Tracy Tripp has been highly involved in the case so far. Tripp joined the office in February after spending more than five years with the Defender Association of Philadelphia.

Krasner said a bail hearing had not yet been set for Pownall, and that the ex-police officer, who according to media reports was fired a few months after the shooting, had already turned himself in.