Atlanta police to release shooting footage

The Atlanta Police Department was releasing body camera footage Wednesday night from officers that responded to the aftermath of last month’s fatal shooting near the site of the city’s planned public safety training center.

Officials have said the Jan. 18 incident — in which activist Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran was killed after allegedly firing first at law enforcement officers — only directly involved Georgia state troopers. Troopers are generally not equipped with body cameras and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said no footage of the actual shooting exists.

The overall operation that day, though, was a multijurisdictional effort that included APD, DeKalb County police and more. Activists and Teran’s family have called for any footage from any officers or other sources near the training center property that day to be released.

APD began doing that on Wednesday night, posting a link to videos it said showed footage from “from APD officers assigned to the … clearing detail who were nearby and responded to the shooting at the time it occurred.”

An APD spokesman said videos were being uploaded “on a rolling basis.” As of about 6:30 p.m., a total of four videos had been posted.

Video initially reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday evening appeared to show a group of Atlanta police officers walking through the southern DeKalb County woods and removing tents presumably set up by activists.

Officers can be seen using their folding knives to destroy an unoccupied green tent during what authorities have called a “clearing operation” to remove protesters who had been camping out in and around the site since late 2021.

“Think they’ll come back now?” one officer asks a colleague as he slashes the tent.

They also appeared to confiscate a backpack and other belongings found inside.

As they scour the woods, an officer can be heard complaining to his colleagues about slipping in the mud. His jovial tone turned to one of concern when a barrage of gunfire echoed through the forest.

In the time-stamped body camera footage, the first four shots can be heard at 9:01 a.m. There is a brief pause before what sounds like multiple officers firing dozens of rounds in return.

Several people can be heard shouting through the woods, though it’s unclear what they said.

The APD officers are told to stop moving and take cover, followed by what sounds like a command to make sure their body cameras are switched on.

“Is this target practice?” an officer asks as the group takes cover behind several trees.