Family of man killed by Cobb County police officer want special prosecutor

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Attorneys representing the family of a man who was shot and killed by a Cobb County police officer say the Cobb County District Attorney is biased against their client and they want the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor in the case.

The demand was made during a press conference on Tuesday. 

On Aug. 18, 2021, Cobb County police say officers tried to pull 28-year-old Devonte Dewayne Brown over for driving recklessly. Police say he initially stopped but then tried to get away and hit multiple police vehicles. They eventually boxed him in. Investigators say that's when one officer opened fire.

In body camera footage provided by the lawyer representing Brown's family, the man was seen in a car that appeared to have its airbags deployed and was boxed in by Cobb police on Powder Springs Road. Brown moves his vehicle, hitting a patrol car. 

In the video, the officer can be seen and heard firing about a dozen shots at the car.

"There were other officers standing around that chose not to discharge their weapon, but this particular officer, for some odd reason, decided to use force, force that we believe was unlawful and excessive," said attorney Harry Daniels.

Daniels says Brown wasn't a threat because he was trapped by his car's airbag.

"So the imminent threat of violence to the officers or other people - that wasn't the case here. The only thing that could have taken place was damage to squad cars," he said.  

Devonte Dewayne Brown (Supplied)

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to conduct an independent investigation and then turned their findings over to the Cobb County District Attorney's Office. The GBI did report that a gun was found in Brown's car.

A grand jury concluded that there were "no grounds for charges against the officers involved."

Brown’s family is represented by Bernarda Villalona of Villalona Law, PLLC, as well as Chantel Cherry-Lassiter and Crystal Carey with The Law Offices of Harry M. Daniels.

The attorneys for Brown's family say that all the evidence gathered by the GBI was given to the DA's office nine months after the grand jury heard the case.

Attorneys say McConnell was never indicted in the shooting because the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office presented incomplete evidence to the grand jury in December 2022. 

"As a former prosecutor, I have no idea why anyone would take a case to the grand jury before the investigation was complete unless you wanted that case to fail," said Villalona. 

"It’s clear that the District Attorney’s Office didn’t care what evidence the GBI found. They weren’t going to use it anyway."

"How many times have we heard the police and prosecutors say that we have to be patient and wait for all the facts to come in before we make a decision?" said Cherry-Lassiter. 

"Apparently that’s true for every case except this one.""This isn’t justice," said Carey. "It’s a bait and switch of the worst kind and Devonte Brown’s family deserves better."