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Rioters gather during a protest at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center earlier this year. ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT
A controversial shooting earlier this year in Atlanta has been turned over to Mountain Circuit District Attorney George Christian to determine if anyone committed a crime in the death of activist Manuel Teran.
On Jan. 18, Teran was demonstrating with dozens of others who rioted at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center – known to critics as “Cop City” – when he was shot by police officers, resulting in 57 bullet wounds.
Christian was tapped by the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia (PAC) to take the GBI report and determine if criminal charges need to be brought in the case.
“Since taking over the conflict appointment process from the Attorney General’s Office on July 1, 2022, PAC has appointed hundreds of cases, a number of them being serious violent felonies, to nearly every elected prosecutor in the state,” said Pete Skandalakis, Executive Director of PAC. “District Attorney Christian is one of those prosecutors and has always made himself available to assist in this process. There is no specific matrix which is used or has been used to appoint conflict prosecutors. PAC makes every effort to not over burden any one office with conflict cases since every elected prosecutor has limited resources and his/her own caseload to manage. We are grateful that DA Christian accepted this appointment. His experience as a District Attorney and former federal prosecutor will be of value to this and any case he handles.”
Officers raided the campgrounds set up outside the training facility when the shooting occurred. Officers claimed Teran refused to respond to verbal commands and had a firearm, according to a report by ABC News.
Protestors say the center is further militarizing the police and will threaten the lives of marginalized people, the report added.
Christian said there is no set timeline for making a decision. He said a grand jury could be seated in the matter, but that is not a certainty.
“I will review the evidence (GBI Report) and make a determination concerning the use of deadly force,” said Christian, who added that he will not be using any other independent investigators outside the GBI. “This matter will occupy some of my time and I will handle this matter. Fortunately, we have talented, experienced, and competent staff in all three counties of the Mountain Judicial Circuit to handle the work of the Circuit.”