The use of force against a protester killed at the future site of the Atlanta public safety center was reasonable and no charges will be filed against the law enforcement officers involved, a special prosecutor assigned to investigate the case said in a news release Friday.
Manual Paez Teran who was camping in the woods in protest at the site, dubbed "Cop City," was shot and killed by state troopers conducting a clearing operation on January 18.
The case was investigated by special prosecutor, George R. Christian, the district attorney pro tempore of the Mountain Circuit District Attorney's Office.
Teran "refused to comply with the lawful commands of the Troopers," before the shooting took place, the release says. Troopers "used a 'less lethal' device known as a pepperball launcher in an effort to have Teran leave the tent. Teran responded by shooting four times," special prosecutor George R. Christian said in the statement, using a "9 mm pistol through the tent striking and seriously injuring a Georgia State Trooper. Six Troopers returned fire resulting in the death of Teran."
"The use of lethal (deadly) force by the Georgia State Patrol was objectively reasonable under the circumstances of the case. No criminal charges will be brought against the Georgia State Patrol Troopers involved in the shooting of Manual Paez Teran," Christian said.
"The DA is not the final arbiter," Teran family attorney Jeff Flipovits told CNN by phone as he was reading the findings.
"It's disturbing that they won't release the underlying material for the investigation. It's an abuse of the open records act as far as I'm concerned," he added
Flipovits said the family would be releasing a longer statement later today.
Teran, a climate activist, was there because they were part of a group who believe the facility would cause irreversible damage to forest land.
CNN has reached out to the Atlanta Police Department for comment.
The Georgia State Patrol declined to comment, referring questions to the district attorney's office.
