Manuel Paez Teran, ‘Cop City’ protester, autopsy details released

DECATUR, Ga.

Environmental activist who was fatally shot during a confrontation with Georgia law enforcement officers sitting cross-legged in the air in January, the protester’s family said Monday, releasing the results of an autopsy they ordered.

The family of Manuel Páez Teran held a news conference in Decatur to announce the findings and the filing of an open lawsuit seeking to force Atlanta police to release more evidence about the Jan. 18 slaying of Páez Teran, who went by the name Tortuguita. and they used the pronoun.

Attorneys for the family said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which has been investigating the shooting for nearly two months, has prevented Atlanta police from providing additional evidence to the family.

“Manuel was facing death, his hands were raised at the time of the murder,” civil rights attorney Brian Spears said, citing the autopsy report. “We are not standing here today to tell you that we know what happened. The second autopsy is a picture of what happened, but it’s not the whole story. What we want is clear: GBI, meet with the family and release the investigative report. “.

In a statement, the bureau said it is preventing “inappropriate disclosure of evidence” to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

Authorities said officers killed Paez Teran after the 26-year-old shot and critically wounded a state trooper as officers cleared activists from an Atlanta-area forest where officials plan to build a massive police and fire training center. The GBI said in a statement that the investigation continues to support the agency’s initial assessment of what happened.