ATLANTA – The Georgia state troopers who shot and killed an environmental activist at the site of a planned police and fire training center near Atlanta will not be charged, a prosecutor announced Friday, saying he found their use of deadly force was “objectively reasonable.”
Opponents of the center, who derisively refer to it as “Police City,” had camped on an 85-acre (34-hectare) tract of forest being developed for the massive facility. Manuel Páez Terán, 26, was murdered there on January 18.
Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Christian was appointed to review the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s file on the shooting. Along with the statement announcing his decision, Christian released a 31-page report detailing his analysis. However, he refused to reveal the underlying evidence, upsetting the family.
State police were part of what authorities described as a “law enforcement operation” at the scene when they encountered Páez Terán, known as Tortuguita. When the activist refused to come out of a tent, police officers fired a pepper ball launcher and Páez Terán responded by firing a pistol four times across the tent, striking and seriously injuring one police officer, according to the statement. Six police officers returned fire and killed Páez Terán.
Brian Spears, an attorney for the family, called Christian’s report “a rubber stamp of the GBI’s version of events without any critical analysis.”
Protesters march near Atlanta police during a protest over plans to build a new police training center, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Atlanta.AP
The police officers who shot Páez Terán were not wearing body cameras, and Páez Terán’s family and other activists have expressed skepticism from the beginning about authorities’ statements about the shooting.
Specifically, they pointed to the results of an independent autopsy commissioned by the family that concluded that the activist was sitting cross-legged with his hands in the air at the time of the shooting. Separately, the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office said the activist’s body had at least 57 gunshot wounds. The coroner also said that “no gunpowder residue was seen” on Páez Terán’s hands, although investigators said that subsequent forensic tests “revealed the presence of particles characteristic of the residue of gunshot primers.”
Protesters also highlighted the comment of an officer who, apparently reacting to radio traffic, had said, “You (expletive) your own officer up.” Activists said on social media that this supports claims some made early on that the police officer was shot by friendly fire. Christian’s report says that the bullet that wounded the police officer came from Páez Terán’s gun.
Noah Gringi holds a sign at a press conference for Manuel Esteban Páez Terán in Decatur, Georgia, on February 6, 2023.AP
The murder of Páez Terán was a galvanizing moment for the “Stop Cop City” movement, with activists around the world holding vigils and painting murals in honor of Tortuguita, who, according to his friends, was dedicated to helping others and protecting the environment. Three days after the killing, a group of masked protesters set fire to a police car and attacked the entrance to a downtown skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation, the nonprofit organization that is building the training center.
Several other acts of vandalism have occurred since then, including the assault on the construction site in March, an event that led to dozens of people being charged with domestic terrorism. In late August, Georgia’s Republican Attorney General, Chris Carr, secured a racketeering indictment against 61 people connected to the movement.
In the report released Friday, Christian named the state troopers who shot Páez Terán: Mark Lamb, Jonathan Salcedo, Bryland Myers, Ronaldo Kegel, Royce Zah and Jerry Parrish. He identified Parrish as the police officer who was shot and wounded by Páez Terán.
Vienna holds a photo of her murdered partner, Turtle, in Atlanta on Jan. 26, 2023. AP
The report says officers from multiple law enforcement agencies participated in an operation to remove people who were trespassing on the property, which is owned by the city of Atlanta, and to remove the encampments. Activists at the site had “disrupted and intimidated” contractors working at the site and “had committed crimes”, he says.
The GBI briefed all participating officers before they deployed to the wooded area, telling them that people at the location were previously known to have weapons and that one officer had been confronted by a person with a rifle and a handgun on one occasion. . Officers were also warned about explosive devices and booby traps allegedly found on the property and were told that people had previously thrown rocks and fireworks at officers, according to the report.
Also according to the report, when the first two officers arrived at Páez Terán’s store, the store door was open about a foot (30 centimeters) and the officers saw movement inside. A police officer identified himself as a police officer and told Páez Terán to leave the store. After a minute or two, it became clear that the activist was not going to leave, and Páez Terán zipped up the tent.
One of the police officers radioed to ask for a pepper ball launcher and, while waiting, continued telling Páez Terán to come out. When more soldiers arrived, Páez Terán partially opened the store and told them that he would not come out and that he wanted them to leave before closing the store again. That’s when one of the police officers warned Páez Terán that he would use a chemical agent and began shooting pepper balls inside the store.
Within seconds, Páez Terán began shooting at the soldiers from inside the store, according to the report. The soldiers returned fire. They reported that they heard a loud bang and saw white smoke coming from the front area of the tent, which led them to believe that Páez Terán had deployed an explosive device.
The officers involved said they clearly identified themselves as police officers and told Páez Terán to come out several times. They said they told him he was trespassing and that he was under arrest and warned him before using the pepper balls. Other officers confirmed hearing the police identify themselves and issue warnings.
Christian, citing Carr’s ongoing racketeering case, said no other records will be released for now. Spears objected to that. She said there is “no possible reasonable justification” for not releasing all records given that Christian’s investigation is complete.
Páez Terán’s mother, Belkis Terán, echoed that opinion in a written statement.
“We have waited eight months for the truth,” he wrote. “We’re suffering. We want to hear the interviews. We want our experts to review the laboratory tests. We want our questions answered. This report does not answer our questions. How long should we wait?
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Source: vtt.edu.vn