ATLANTA — A former Atlanta police officer was found not guilty of murder after being accused of killing a teenager who allegedly tried to steal his unmarked patrol car.
The jury decided after only a few hours of deliberations.
The verdict came on Friday afternoon, bringing an emotional release for Oliver Simmonds, who hugged his defense attorney upon hearing the news.
Simmonds had been facing charges of felony murder and aggravated assault for the 2019 shooting of 18-year-old D’Etrrick Griffin at a gas station in Southwest Atlanta.
The jury of 14 people believed Simmonds’ claim that he feared for his life when he shot Griffin.
“The only reason why he killed the teen is because he feared for his own life,” defense attorney, Jackie Patterson, the Fly Lawyer, said.
Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was inside the courtroom Friday as the state argued that Simmonds’ life was never truly in danger.
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Senior Assistant District Attorney Sau Chan suggested that Simmonds acted out of a need to recover his car and avoid embarrassment rather than self-defense.
“That man was not in fear of anybody’s life! He just needed to get his car back because he was embarrassed by what he just did – he didn’t want to explain that to his higher-ups,” Chan said.
However, the jury did not accept this argument and concluded that Simmonds was not guilty on all charges.
The Atlanta Police Department’s policy does not permit officers to shoot car thieves unless their own life or other lives are in immediate danger.
The family of Griffin was devastated by the verdict, with one relative needing medical attention from paramedics.
Simmonds had been worried about his freedom since the incident. Patterson said Simmonds had the right to defend himself in what he believed was a deadly situation.
“Mr. Griffin rolled the dice when he took a chance on stealing this police vehicle, a police officer has the right to defend himself in a deadly situation,” Patterson said during the trial.
This ruling brings an end to the three-year legal battle for Simmonds.
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