Family of slain ‘Cop City’ activist wants answers
The parents of slain activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran called on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Monday to provide answers about the events leading up to the activist’s death last month.
Paez Teran — who went by “Tortuguita” — along with other activists was protesting the proposed building of a large police training center in a forest in southern Dekalb County. Groups critical of the police and environmentalists have opposed the building of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, or “Cop City,” since 2021 by setting up encampments in the 85-acre forest.
On Jan. 18, a law enforcement “clearing operation” turned violent. A Georgia State Patrol officer was shot and seriously wounded and Paez Teran was shot and killed.
A private autopsy commissioned by the family indicated that 26-year-old Paez Teran was shot at least 12 times by several different firearms, attorney Brian Spears said Monday.
“Multiple officers riddled his body with bullets,” Spears said.
There is no camera footage of the event because none of the officers present were wearing body cameras, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said last month. Bodycam footage of the aftermath does exist.
The attorneys called on the GBI and other law enforcement agencies to release any and all audio and video footage — including drone and helicopter footage — of the events of Jan. 18.
“Manuel is dead. You cannot charge a dead person with a crime,” Spears said. “There is no reason to withhold this information and there is no reason to not be transparent.
“There needs to be an independent and unbiased investigation into the entire circumstances that should focus not only on whatever shooting may have been done by our young deceased, but also by the officers. We’re here today because we need facts.”
“We are not releasing any videos currently because agents are continuing to conduct key interviews and want to maintain the integrity of the investigation,” GBI’S Miles said on Monday.
Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be handed off to a special prosecutor, Miles added. Officer-involved shooting investigations typically take 60 days to 90 days to complete.
The legal team had hand-delivered a letter to the GBI asking a representative to meet with the family but received no response, attorney Jeff Filipovits said.
“When we began our case, we contacted and spoke with Teran’s family,” Miles said. “We intend to follow up with the family as the investigation progresses.”
Paez Terán’s family said the activist was drawn to the Atlanta forest by a long history of environmental activism and love for the natural world.
“We are horrified by all that has happened,” said his mother, Belkis Teran.
Paez Teran graduated with honors from Florida State University and frequently organized beach and park clean-ups and recycling events, she said.
Daniel Paez, brother of the slain activist, said he missed his best friend and issued a fiery denunciation of how law enforcement agencies have handled the matter.
“I don’t see integrity in the police,” Paez said. “Calling protesters only charged with trespassing misdemeanors ‘terrorists’ is not absolute honesty and trustworthiness.”
“My call to action goes to the police officers: Find your moral courage and place your nation over loyalty to individuals,” added Paez, who described how he learned the meaning of integrity while serving in the U.S. Navy.
The GBI has said Paez Teran legally purchased a 9 mm handgun in 2020 and used that gun to shoot the state trooper last month.
However, the family’s lawyers contended that the gun purchase is not conclusive.
“It’s a single fact without context that tells us nothing of the narrative of what happened and how things unfolded on that day,” Filipovits said. “And we’re not in a position to respond further because we have no further information from the GBI.”
The lawyers said other activists who were in the forest at the time are reluctant to come forward with information because they fear repercussions. Other activists at the site have been arrested and charged with domestic terrorism.
Dekalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston recused herself from the investigation last month because her office has been involved in a task force related to the training facility.
A multi-agency law-enforcement task force carried out another clearing operation at the forest on Monday, GBI spokeswoman Miles said. No arrests were made.