Autopsy finds 'Cop City' protester's hands were raised during Georgia fatal shooting, attorney says
A private autopsy found a 26-year-old environmental activist who was protesting the construction of a police and fire training center near Atlanta had their hands raised when they were shot 14 times, attorneys said Monday.
Manuel Paez Terán, who went by the name Tortuguita, was killed by police Jan. 18 after allegedly shooting a state trooper as law enforcement attempted to clear protesters from the site of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, called "Cop City" by its opponents.
The family and their attorneys urged the city to release more information about Tortuguita's death.
"We still do not know anything," Tortuguita's mother, Belkis Teran, said at a news conference Monday. "My heart is destroyed . . . I want answers for my child's homicide."
What did the autopsy find?
An initial autopsy done by the DeKalb Medical Examiners Office has not been released to the public or the family, according to attorney Brian Spears.
The second autopsy, conducted at the request of the family by former state medical examiner Kris Sperry, found Tortuguita was shot multiple times by different firearms. Sperry abruptly resigned in 2015 after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found he “claimed hundreds of work hours at the GBI when he actually was working for clients of his forensic-science consulting firm.”
Gunshot wounds to the hands and arms indicate Tortuguita raised their hands with their palms facing their body during the shooting, according to the second autopsy report. The trajectory of several bullet wounds indicate Tortuguita was likely sitting cross-legged when they were shot, the report said.
They suffered a gunshot wound to the head that "would have been instantaneously incapacitating and unquestionably lethal," according to the autopsy. The autopsy said "it is impossible to determine" if Tortuguita was holding a weapon before or during the shooting.
“Manuel was looking death in the face, hands raised when killed,” Spears said. "The second autopsy is a snapshot of what happened, but it is not the whole story. What we want is simple: GBI, meet with the family and release the investigative report.”
Attorneys accuse city of withholding records
Attorney Jeff Filipovits said the family has sued the city to release more information about the shooting. He said the autopsy "is not enough for us to work backward from it to figure out what happened."
"Imagine your child was killed by the police under suspicious circumstances and imagine the police will tell you nothing," Filipovits said.
The family requested records from various agencies after Tortuguita's death and the Atlanta Police Department released recordings from the day of the shooting, family attorney Wingo Smith said Monday.
But the department refused to release additional recordings to the family or the media after it received a letter from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation asking police to stop releasing material related to the incident and the attorney general's office advised the city that it did not have to release records to the family, Smith said.
"It appears there has been a coordinated campaign to silence the city of Atlanta and it worked," Smith said.
GBI says it 'intended to preserve the integrity of the investigation'
The GBI said in a statement Monday it is investigating the shooting and will turn over its findings to a prosecutor "for review and action."
"The actions of the GBI to prevent inappropriate release of evidence are solely intended to preserve the integrity of the investigation and to ensure the facts of the incident are not tainted," the statement said. "The GBI investigation still supports our initial assessment."
The GBI said in January that the officers near the incident during the shooting were not wearing body camera and there isn't body camera footage of the moment Tortuguita was shot. Police released two hours of footage of moments surrounding the shooting which includes officers clearing tents, reacting after they heard gunfire and at least one officer speculating the trooper was shot by another officer.
"Speculation is not evidence," the GBI said in a statement. "Our investigation does not support that statement."
The GBI also said the projectile recovered from the trooper’s wound matches a handgun Tortuguita legally purchased in 2020.
Attorney raises concerns about 'unprecedented crackdown against protesters'
Filipovits said Tortuguita's death came amid "an unprecedented crackdown against protesters."
Activists have been occupying the area since late 2021 in an attempt to halt the project's development due to concerns that it will negatively impact the South River Forest and contribute to the militarization of police. A coalition of law enforcement agencies claim the groups are terrorizing project workers and endangering local residents.
The day of the shooting, seven people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism and criminal trespass, according to the GBI.
"People are sitting in the DeKalb County jail right now who have no factual basis for the charges against them, at least none that have been articulated..." Filipovits said. "This is continuing. This is ongoing. This is intimidation by the state against dissent."
Dig deeper
What is 'Cop City?': Why activists are protesting police, fire department training center in Atlanta.
Attack on 'Cop City': 23 people charged with domestic terrorism after attack on Atlanta police center 'Cop City'
'They spent their time...defending the forest': Authorities identify person killed at Atlanta's 'Cop City' training center site
Contact Breaking News Reporter N'dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Cop City' protester had hands raised during fatal shooting: Autopsy
