The GBI says this was the gun Manuel Esteban Paez Teran used to shoot a Georgia State Patrol trooper during a raid near the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.Georgia Bureau of Investigation
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."
In their report, officials say the troopers spoke with Tortuguita, who refused to leave and zipped up the tent in which they were living, Fox 5 reports.
After an officer fired pepper balls at the tents, officials say that the environmental activist fired multiple shots - hitting Georgia State Patrol Trooper Jerry Parrish below his armor plate and above his belt on his right side and lodging the bullet in his spine. The troopers then returned fire, hitting and killing Tortuguita.
