Family of ‘Cop City’ protester killed by police seeks answers
The family of a protester who was shot and killed by police in Atlanta, Georgia, is now suing the city in search for answers about their loved one's death. Protesters name is Manuel Esteban País Tehran. They also went by the name Portuguita. They were part of a group called the Forest Defenders. You may have heard about them. There's been a group of folks that have been occupying a forest south of Atlanta. It's actually in Atlanta.
Protesting the construction of an 85-acre police training facility in the south of the forest in Atlanta. Opponents have named it COP City. Police say they need to take over this area and erect a new facility for adequate training. Protesters argued the facility would damage the environment and lead to an increasingly militarized police force. One of the things they would do is sort of do SWAT teams sort of trainings in this place. And the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which has been probing this shooting, says that during a protest, and there have been sustained protests, Tehran opened a fire on police shooting and wounding an officer. The police returned fire, killing Tehran.
The agency has said there's no body, camera, and footage to corroborate this. They also say that evidence shows the trooper was shot with a bullet from a gun Tehran legally purchased. Now the claim that Tehran shot a police officer has been hard to believe for a bunch of folks who knew him well, including a writer who covered him named Dave Pisoner, who profiled Tehran. Pisoner says that while he doesn't know what happened that night, Tehran was a earnest and joyful person who once told him, quote, the right kind of resistance is peaceful, because that's where we win. We're not going to beat them to violence. They're very, very good at violence. We're not.
We win through nonviolence. So that was the sort of story in the beginning. Then last month, a new development, the Atlanta Police Department released body, camera, footage of an officer who wasn't involved in the shooting, where you can hear him suggest that his fellow cop was shot by friendly fire. Well, that sounded like suppressed gunfire. Okay, now just to be clear, right? You've got people occupying the forest, you've got a police who want to clear them out. And then you've got a bunch of different law enforcement entities in that forest, in that confusing situation as you just heard, right? Hearing gunshots, wondering where the gunshots are coming from. Now, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has dismissed the officer's comments that you just saw there as speculation.
But that video where police officers said, wait, we shot our own guy has sparked a lot more questions. So Tehran's family commissioned an autopsy conducted by a former state medical examiner, released the findings this week, which indicate that Tehran's hands were raised when they were shot. According to the autopsy, the wounds indicate that manuals left arm and hand were raised when Manuel was shot with the palm facing the front of the body. Manuel's right forearm and right hand were also shot. The wounds to the legs are consistent with Manuel having been shot while they were sitting down cross legged. Now, the GBI has said that to preserve the integrity of their investigation, they can't provide family the records they seek. Since this incident, the situation around Cop City has only escalated.
Last week, a group of protesters were arrested after they were reportedly through bricks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at police. Although no officers were injured, those 23 protesters are now being charged with domestic terrorism. We don't know any more details beyond what has reported. Obviously, it's a fraught and confusing situation, but ultimately what we do know is that Tehran, towards Uggita, was shot and killed by police. Their family has no answers about the circumstances under which their loved one died at the hands of the state. And if nothing else, they are owed that information.
Chris Hayes