COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a teenager shot and killed by a Cobb County police officer is calling out the police chief for going on vacation while they wait for answers.
At a news conference on Friday at Beulah Baptist Church in northwest Atlanta, the family of Vincent Truitt, and their attorney, demanded the release of all video related to the deadly police shooting.
“We will not stop until there is justice for Vincent Truitt,” said his father Andrae Truitt.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the July 13 officer-involved shooting. The agency said Cobb police tried to stop three teens in a stolen car on Riverside Drive. The driver led officers on a chase that ended behind a building.
Channel 2 Cobb County bureau chief Chris Jose spoke to police chief Tim Cox by phone while he was on vacation on Thursday.
Cox told Jose police approached the stolen car and two teens ran.
The GBI said one of them brandished a handgun and an officer fired his gun.
Jose asked Cox, “Why not release the video?”
“I think what needs to be done is let the independent investigation be completed and turned over to the DA’s office,” said Cox.
Truitt’s family and attorney referenced Jose’s interview with the police chief during Friday’s news conference.
“You see, Mr. Tim Cox, chief of police, while you just want us to continue to wait, and while you’re vacationing and relaxing, this family is hurt,” said Truitt’s godfather Damon Horn. “Show us the video. Show us the evidence that led to the shooting and killing of our beloved Vincent.”
Defense attorney Gerald Griggs said Truitt never brandished a gun. He claims the officer fired two shots at Truitt’s back as he ran away. Griggs revealed he and the family met with the GBI director Vic Reynolds on Thursday.
“When he falls to the ground, he asked the officer, ‘Why did you shoot me? I’m dying, bro. I’m dying.’ Did he(Reynolds) say anything about that?” Jose asked Griggs.
“We do not know exactly what Mr. Truitt said, but we have had reports to substantiate what you’re saying,” said Griggs.
Truitt’s family said the 17-year old grew up in Atlanta’s Vine City neighborhood.
“He was a hero to his little brother and sister,” said Truitt’s mother Venethia Cook-Lewis. “You robbed of us our future. Vincent had big plans to graduate and continue his entrepreneurship.”
Jose reached a spokesperson with the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
She said the GBI is still investigating and prosecutors are waiting for the evidence. When they get it, the DA spokeswoman said they’ll show the video to the family.
A GBI spokeswoman told Jose that the district attorney’s office advised the agency not to release video yet.
“I want this officer fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Cook-Lewis. “My child died alone. I have never let him down.”
A rally is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Riverside EpiCenter. Demonstrators will march to the location where Truitt was shot.
Cox Media Group
