DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office reached a charging decision in the death of an Army veteran killed by an officer in an emergency room.
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Police say a Veteran’s Administration Officer shot John Smith Jr., 58, at the Atlanta VA Medical Center when he pursued a nurse with a knife on Jan. 29.
Earlier this week, DeKalb District Attorney Sherry Boston and staff members met with Smith’s family and walked them through the case, which included showing them video of the shooting from the officer’s body-camera.
The DA said the evidence shows that under the law, the officer who shot Smith was justified in his use of force and he will not be charged.
According to a county coroner’s report obtained by Channel 2′s Tom Jones, the officer shot Smith 13 times back in January.
Smith’s family says the Army veteran was suicidal. They say he went to the VA hospital for help.
“He was having a breakdown, a mental breakdown,” his sister, LaShun Smith, said.
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The investigation revealed that Smith went to the VA hospital and told staff he was having thoughts of hurting himself or someone else. As a VA social worker and medical staff were in the process of admitting Smith to the hospital, he pulled out a knife from his belongings. The DA’s office said the body camera video showed they tried repeatedly to talk to Smith and asked him to drop the knife.
At one point, he followed a hospital employee into an enclosed room and charged toward him with the knife. That’s when the officer shot Smith.
“Mr. Smith’s death is a painful reminder of the struggles our veterans face, even long after their service officially ends. We grieve with his family and offer them our deepest condolences,” Boston said.
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office has now closed the case.
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