ATLANTA — Newly released Atlanta police body camera video gives new insight into the shooting that left a protester dead and a deputy injured at the site of a planned police training facility.
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According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Manuel Teran, 26, was shot and killed after firing a handgun at a trooper attempting to clear protesters out of the forest. Protesters had been camped out in the area for nearly a year in opposition to the proposed training center and had gotten into repeated conflicts with officers.
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Video shows officers approaching clearing a few empty tents in the forest before shots ring out deeper into the forest. Georgia State Patrol troopers do not wear body cameras, so there is no video that directly shows the shooting, only video that captures audio of the gunshots.
(WARNING: CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO COULD BE DISTURBING TO SOME)
APD body camera video captures the sound of four clear gunshots before a pause, then a barrage of gunshots that appear to be return fire. The APD officers are some distance away from the gunfire.
After the shooting, officers gather around a green tent and deploy several rounds of what they call a “pepper ball agent” at the tent until they are able to determine that it is “clear.” It’s unclear if Teran was inside the tent at the time.
Sirens wail in the background as the injured trooper is rushed to receive medical care. The trooper’s identity has not been released to protect his privacy as he recovers.
Officials said the trooper was shot in his pelvic area and was wearing a bulletproof vest during the incident.
Teran died on the scene.
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According to the GBI, a gun registered to Teran was found in his possession.
The proposed Atlanta Police Training facility would take up an 85-acre plot off Key Road in the largest urban forest in metro Atlanta. Protesters said they feared it would be bad for the community and the environment.
Earlier this week, multiple law enforcement agencies conducted a clearing operation of the forest.
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