A special prosecutor will not charge the six Georgia State Patrol troopers who shot and killed an environmental protestor at the proposed site for the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, who went by “Tortuguita” and used they/them pronouns, was shot and killed by six Georgia State Troopers 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 training center, dubbed “Cop City” by critics.
After months of investigating, the Stone Mountain Circuit District Attorney’s Office says the troopers’ use of lethal force was “objectively reasonable under the circumstances of the case.”
Those who knew him claimed he had committed to nonviolence.
Although apparently the ballistics report claims the bullet came from a gun Terán owned.
I’m inclined to believe the cops used excessive force since that’s what they’re regularly trained to do.
How are you committed to nonviolence, but buy a gun and bring it to a protest? That doesn’t mean he was looking to fight or that he didn’t prefer nonviolent resistance, but it’s pretty incompatible with a commitment to nonviolence.
A lot of unanswered questions about this situation for sure. Probably will remain that way.