A dead protester in Atlanta had his hands up

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — An environmentalist who was shot and killed in a confrontation with Georgian police officers in January was sitting cross-legged with his hands raised at the time, relatives of the protester said Monday in releasing the details. results of a necropsy they ordered.

Manuel Paez Terán’s family held a press conference in Decatur to report the results and said they would take legal action to force Atlanta police to release more evidence about the murder of Paez Terán, nicknamed ” Tortuguita”, on January 18.

The family’s attorneys said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), which has been investigating the incident for nearly two months, has blocked Atlanta police from providing the family with additional evidence. The wooded area in which Paez Terán was murdered has long been called “Cop City” (Police City) by the protesters who occupied it, as they oppose the installation of a huge training center for the police and firefighters in these 34 hectares (85 acres).

“Manuel was looking death in the eye, with his hands up, when he was killed,” civil rights attorney Brian Spears said, referring to the findings of the forensic examination. “We are not here today to tell you that we know what happened. The second autopsy is a photograph of what happened, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. What we want is simple: for the GBI to meet with the family and release the investigation report.”

In a statement, the agency said it was avoiding “inappropriate disclosure of evidence” to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

The death of Paez Terán and his commitment to oppose the construction of the center catapulted the “Stop Cop City” movement onto the national and international scene: left-wing activists from all over the country held vigils and some of they decided to join the protest movement that began in 2021. A few of the protests have turned violent, including one this month in which more than 150 masked activists stormed a nearby music festival at the construction site of the proposed training center, setting fire to construction equipment and throwing stones at police officers.