Georgia NAACP calls for DOJ to intervene in Cobb County police shootings
Calls for DOJ to investigate shooting death
The attorneys for two men shot and killed by Cobb County police now want the U.S. Justice Department to intervene. The family of one of the men, Devonte Brown, has filed a federal lawsuit against the officer who shot and killed Brown during a traffic stop.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - The attorneys for two men shot and killed by Cobb County police now want the Justice Department to intervene.
The family of one of the men, Devonte Brown, filed a federal lawsuit against the officer who shot and killed Brown during a traffic stop.
Cobb County officer-involved shooting caught on camera
The state NAACP and the families of these two men are very critical of the Cobb County District Attorney and the way that he handled these police-involved shootings.
That is why they want the Georgia Attorney General and the Justice Department to step in.
"The rule is, you don't shoot and kill an unarmed person," civil rights attorney Harry Daniels exclaimed.
Devonte Dewayne Brown (Supplied)
Attorneys for Devonte Brown say the father of five was not posing a threat to officers at the time police officer Ian McConnell shot Brown 12 times, killing him.
Video released by Brown's attorneys show the father was trying to flee law enforcement but was quickly surrounded, before McConnel opened fire.
"He completes the box in and what he decides to do is get out of the car, screams orders of ‘Mr. brown to get your [expletive] hands up’ and he subsequently shot him. When you look at the video, there's no imminent threat at the time period he was boxed," Daniels exclaimed.
NAACP critical of Cobb County DA
That is why attorneys for Brown filed a federal lawsuit against Officer McConnell for excessive force and wrongful death.
"There seems to be a recurrence of the lack of justice and transparency," Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs said.
Griggs insists there is a troubling pattern of Black men being shot by police and not prosecuted by Cobb DA Flynn Broady.
Mr. Griggs points to the death of 17-year-old Vincent Truitt, also shot in the back twice in 2020 by another officer.
"In this particular case, like he did in Vincent's case, he presented it to a civil grand jury. That's not enough. Present it to a criminal grand jury. Allow them to make the determination if Georgia law was violated," Griggs demanded.
Cobb County DA responds to NAACP claims
DA Flynn Broady told FOX 5 last month he handled the Brown case properly.
"That's their right to file a lawsuit. But the fact is a grand jury of their peers look at the evidence, looked at the investigation, listen to the witnesses and determined the officers were right in what they did," DA Broady insisted.
The Cobb County police have released a statement on this case in the past. It reads in part:
"The totality of the evidence was reviewed. The officer was cleared of both criminal and policy violations after the GBI investigation, District Attorney presentation to the Grand Jury, and the administrative review."