Investigation into Georgia police shooting of climate activist Manuel Terán
Steve Donziger was in Atlanta recently to visit the site where Georgia police shot climate activist and "Cop City" protester Manuel Terán so many times his body ended up with 57 gunshot wounds.
I also met Teran’s mother Belkis and brother Daniel (in the picture above).
It looks more and more likely that the official "investigation" of this tragic event – the first-ever US police killing of a climate activist – is actually a cover-up of a police execution. I believe this incident is a bellwether that will decide whether the United States protects its most powerful change agents or becomes yet another country that takes extreme measures to silence them.
This is personal to me and my clients in the Amazon in Ecuador. I was detained for almost three years by Chevron's private prosecution after winning a $10 billion pollution judgment against the company.
Here are my latest takeaways on the Atlanta police shooting:
First, the police narrative that Terán shot first is falling apart. Two autopsy reports released recently both found Terán did not have gunpowder residue on their hands. If Terán shot first, gunpowder residue would have been found.
One of the autopsy reports (commissioned by Terán's family) indicated Terán was sitting on the ground cross-legged with hands raised at the time officers fired. Further, a separate group of Atlanta police are heard on body cam video saying that the wounded officer was hit by friendly fire.
Second, the apparent police cover-up in the face of evidence of a police execution appears to be deepening. Remember that the official "investigation" is not independent – it is being carried out by the very agency (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) that planned the invasion of the forest that resulted in Terán's death.
The GBI consistently has tried to block key information (including extensive video footage) from the public. To try to maintain its collapsing narrative, this agency conducted its own test that found gunpowder residue on Terán's hands. Soon after, the GBI released its own report that failed to draw a conclusion – the standard prosecutorial recipe for inaction.
Third, the GBI and state officials recently assigned yet another "prosecutor" to determine whether charges should be filed against the six officers who killed Terán. This is another step in the "art" of the cover-up: rather than release the results of its "investigation" as promised, the GBI turned over the case to a law-and-order prosecutor with a history of close ties to law enforcement.
The only credible path: the U.S. Department of Justice must determine whether this was a police murder and a police-engineered cover-up. Justice demands no less. Georgia officials have demonstrated they are incapable of policing themselves.
As you know, I am the lawyer driving the historic environmental case against Chevron that resulted in the historic pollution judgment. I am now using my growing platforms to speak out about broader human rights and environmental justice issues that affect us all -- issues that will go a long way toward determining whether we are able to fully preserve free speech in this country.
It is critical we connect the dots and understand the dangers we are facing as we fight for justice.