CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — The family of the 20-year-old man who was shot and killed by a now former Woodstock police officer reacted to that officer being granted bond.
“It really devalues the life of Emmanuel Millard,” family representative and attorney Akil Secret said.
A grand jury indicted Grant Matthew Shaw for the involuntary manslaughter of Emmanuel Millard in April.
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Shaw is now out on bond.
“The court and the legal system seems to give more value to the life and death of a police officer than they give to a 20-year-old Black man whose life was just beginning,” Secret told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington.
The parents of Millard were too upset to speak on Wednesday, but their family representative and attorney relayed how the parents feel about the $50,000 bond.
“They are extremely devastated,” Secret said.
In October 2023 Shaw shot Millard in the head following a traffic stop that turned into a police pursuit into Cobb County.
Channel 2′s Audrey Washington spoke with Millard’s parents shortly after the grand jury indictment.
“I just want him to get the full extended punishment,” Lenette Millard said.
“We know he’s guilty,” Emmanuel Millard’s father, Joseph Francis III added.
Last month, a Channel 2 Action News viewer contacted Washington and told her Shaw held him at gunpoint during a traffic stop, just about one year before Shaw shot Millard.
“That guy is going to shoot somebody one day,” the man, who asked not to be identified, said he thought after his encounter with Shaw.
Channel 2 Action News did some digging and found Shaw’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Council or POST record.
It showed Shaw completed one hour of judgmental training in June 2023, one hour of de-escalation techniques training, and two hours of use of deadly force training in January 2023.
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“It sends a very poor message to the community as to how safe they can feel,” Secret said.
Washington tried to contact Shaw, but he could not be reached.
The Woodstock Police Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on pending litigation.
The trial is expected to begin in the coming weeks.
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