Current:Home > MarketsPolice officers won't face charges in fatal shooting of protester at 'Cop City' -SovereignWealth
Police officers won't face charges in fatal shooting of protester at 'Cop City'
View
Date:2025-04-27 19:35:35
None of the Georgia State Police troopers involved in the fatal shooting of Manuel "Tortuguita" Teran will face charges, according to Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney George R. Christian.
Teran, who used they/them pronouns, was shot and killed by police on Jan. 18 as officers raided campgrounds occupied by environmental demonstrators who had allegedly been camping out for months to protest the development of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed "Cop City" by critics.
According to an autopsy of Teran sent to ABC News, they did not have gunpowder residue on their hands. Officials claimed Teran fired the first shot at a state trooper. Officers then responded with gunfire.
In Friday's announcement that no charges would be filed, Christian wrote that Teran responded to officers firing "less lethal" pepperball rounds by "shooting four (4) times his 9 mm pistol through the tent striking and seriously injuring a Georgia State Trooper. Six Troopers returned fire resulting in the death of Teran."
"The use of lethal (deadly) force by the Georgia State Patrol was objectively reasonable under the circumstances of this case," Christian wrote. "No criminal charges will be brought against the Georgia State Patrol Troopers involved in the shooting of Manuel Perez Teran."
MORE: DeKalb County releases autopsy in 'Cop City' protester Manuel Teran's death
Teran had at least 57 gunshot wounds in their body, according to the autopsy, including in the hands, torso, legs and head.
An independent autopsy from the family found that Teran’s hands were raised during the fatal shooting, however, the DeKalb County autopsy stated, "There are too many variables with respect to movement of the decedent and the shooters to draw definitive conclusions concerning Mr. Teran's body position."
The DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office had ruled the death a homicide.
The Georgia Attorney General's Office is conducting its own investigation into the shooting.
ABC News' Jason Volack and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
veryGood! (4183)
Related
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- Climate activists disrupt traffic in Boston to call attention to fossil fuel policies
- George R.R. Martin, Jodi Picoult and more sue OpenAI: 'Systematic theft on a mass scale'
- How comic Leslie Jones went from funniest person on campus to 'SNL' star
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Man rescued dangling from California's highest bridge 700 feet above river
- Nigerians protest mysterious death of Afrobeat star as police exhumes body for autopsy
- Detroit Tigers hire Chicago Blackhawks executive Jeff Greenberg as general manager
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Search for murder suspect mistakenly freed from jail expands to more cities
Ranking
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- U.S. offers nearly half-a-million Venezuelan migrants legal status and work permits following demands from strained cities
- 2 French journalists expelled from Morocco as tensions revive between Rabat and Paris
- Raiders' Chandler Jones placed on non-football injury list over 'personal issue,' per reports
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Justin Trudeau accuses India of credible link to activist's assassination in Canada
- Los Angeles Rams trade disgruntled RB Cam Akers to Minnesota Vikings
- Tory Lanez begins 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion
Recommendation
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
2 Black TikTok workers claim discrimination: Both were fired after complaining to HR
Federal judge sets May trial date for 5 former Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols beating
Turkey’s central bank hikes interest rates again in further shift in economic policies
New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
Myanmar state media say 12 people are missing after a boat capsized and sank in a northwest river
Wisconsin DNR defends lack of population goal in wolf management plan
Google Maps sued by family of North Carolina man who drove off collapsed bridge following directions