The Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney will determine whether to bring charges against law enforcement officers involved in the January shooting death of a protester at Atlanta’s ‘Cop City.’
On April 14, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation finished its investigation into the death of Manuel Paez Terán. State investigators handed over their findings to George Christian, who was named special prosecutor in the case.
Christian serves as the district attorney for Habersham, Rabun, and Stephens counties.
According to a report on Atlanta CBS affiliate WANF, Christian said he received a notice from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council on March 8 indicating he had been appointed as District Attorney pro-tempore for this case.
He said he had received the case file from the GBI.
“I’ll look at it, make a determination. A grand jury could be used, is not required. I don’t know going forward what will happen. I have to look at the evidence in the GBI reports before I make any kind of decision,” Christian told WANF.
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Terán, who went by the name Tortuguita, was killed on January 18 as law enforcement officers tried to clear protesters from the site of the planned Atlanta-area public safety training center activists have dubbed “Cop City.” According to the GBI, Terán shot and wounded a Georgia state patrol officer and was killed when law enforcement returned fire.
The DeKalb County Medical Examiner released the official autopsy report last week showing Terán suffered at least 57 gunshot wounds. According to that autopsy report, no gunshot residue was found on Terán’s hands or clothing.
The incident gained national attention. More than 20 protesters were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. Terán’s family continues to push for the GBI to release its findings publicly, and an Atlanta Councilmember has called on the U.S. Department of Justice to open an independent investigation.
Christian said he would not be impacted by the public attention to the case. He told WANF he has not been keeping up with the latest news from this incident but will review all evidence provided, including the autopsy report.
“You have to look at the evidence and make a decision on that, and solely that, and that’s what I’ll do in this case,” said Christian.
