Lawyers for the family of a black driver fatally shot by a Georgia police officer have released body camera footage of the incident two years ago.
Footage obtained by Atlanta Black Star shows the moment a Cobb County officer struck 28-year-old Devonte Brown multiple times in August 2021 after he was stopped for “improper driving” in Marietta.
Body camera footage shows the fatal shooting of Devonte Brown in 2021. (Law Firm of Harry M. Daniels LLC)
In the video, Brown's damaged vehicle is surrounded by police cruisers at the scene and it appears his airbags have deployed.
“Hands up,” McConnell repeated. “Put your damn hands up!”
Brown was still in the car at this point. Moments later, Brown hit the gas and the officer fired 12 times into his vehicle, civil rights attorney Harry Daniels said in a statement Thursday, Nov. 30. Daniels argued that the officer was not in “imminent threat” when he encountered the officer's open fire.
The officer then reported that shots had been fired and called first responders to the scene. About halfway through the video, police officers approached Brown's car. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation previously said he was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“Devonte obviously ended up in a situation where he was being chased by police,” Daniels told WSB-TV. “Utter lethal force was not justified in this case; I mean, he was trapped. He couldn't escape. He was imprisoned. There is no escape and the use of deadly force in this situation was completely inappropriate and, in my opinion, unlawful.”
Cobb County police responded to the video and released a statement saying the officer has not been charged.
“First and foremost, our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragic event, including the family of Devonte Brown and all of the officers involved,” the outlet's statement said. “The loss of life is always a somber matter and we approach this situation with the utmost seriousness and sensitivity.”
It continued: “Following the incident, Cobb Police requested an independent investigation, which was conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The results of this investigation were submitted to the Cobb County District Attorney's Office and the case was tried by the Grand Jury. The grand jury concluded that there were no grounds for indictment against the officer involved.”
