Troopers who fatally shot 'Cop City' protester near Atlanta won't face charges

The Georgia state troopers who fatally shot a 26-year-old environmental activist who was protesting the construction of a police and fire training center near Atlanta will not face criminal charges, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Friday.

Manual Paez Terán, who went by the name Tortuguita, was killed in January as law enforcement attempted to clear protesters from the forest site of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed "Cop City" by its opponents. Terán's death sparked outrage and protests in Atlanta that sometimes turned violent.

The trooper's use of deadly force was determined to be "objectively reasonable under the circumstances of this case" and Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Christian will not pursue criminal charges, according to the release from the bureau. The bureau said it would not comment on or provide additional information about the shooting, citing a pending criminal investigation and prosecution by the state's Attorney General's Office.

Brian Spears, an attorney for Terán's family, said officials should release evidence to the family.

"Adding insult to injury, this rubber stamp comes with the announcement that despite the fact that the investigation is over and the officers will face absolutely no consequences, the underlying evidence in the case will not be released to the family, which has been the singular request that we have made since his death in January," he said. "Let us look at the evidence of what happened that day. It's devastatingly disappointing."

What happened during the shooting?

The bureau said Terán refused to leave a tent and troopers fired a pepperball launcher to force them out. Terán then shot at officers through the tent, seriously injuring one of the troopers, according to the bureau. Six troopers fired back, killing them.

Gunshot wounds to the hands and arms indicate Terán had their hands raised with their palms facing their body during the shooting. The trajectory of several bullet wounds indicates Terán was likely sitting cross-legged when they were shot, according to a private autopsy report released by the family in March. The autopsy found "it is impossible to determine" if Terán was holding a weapon before or during the shooting.

An autopsy report obtained by local media in April from the DeKalb County Medical Examiner found Terán had at least 57 gunshot wounds.

What is 'Cop City?' Why activists are protesting police, fire department training center in Atlanta.

"There are too many variables with respect to movement of the decedent and the shooters todraw definitive conclusions concerning" Terán's body position, according to the report.

Police have said there isn't body camera or dash camera footage showing the moment Terán was shot, but officials have released footage of moments surrounding the shooting. The footage includes officers clearing tents and reacting after they heard gunfire.

Spears said a lawsuit urging the city of Atlanta to release additional videos is still pending, but it's too early to know the family's next steps.

"This investigation is over and we will insist upon releasing the investigative materials," he said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Cop City': Troopers who killed Manuel Paez Terán won't be charged