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Filmed in 1.6 seconds: Video raises questions about how soldier escaped charges in connection with black man’s death

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – Julian Lewis didn’t stop to see a Georgia State Patrol cruiser flashing blue lights behind him on a rural highway. He still didn’t stop as he reached out the window and turned onto the dark dirt road because the soldier blared his siren.

Five minutes after a chase that began due to a broken taillight, a 60-year-old black man was dead – shot in the brow by a white soldier who fired a single bullet just seconds after forcing Lewis right into a ditch. Trooper Jake Thompson insisted he pull the trigger while Lewis revved the engine of his Nissan Sentra and jerked the steering wheel as if to mow him down.

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“I had to shoot that man,” Thompson might be heard telling a supervisor in video captured on a dashboard camera on the shooting scene in rural Screven County, halfway between Savannah and Augusta. “And I’m just scared.”

But recent details of the investigation obtained by The Associated Press and never-before-seen dashcam video of the August 2020 shooting have raised recent questions about how the officer escaped prosecution with only a signed promise never to work in law enforcement again . Use-of-force experts who reviewed the footage for the AP said the shooting seemed to be unjustified.

The investigative file obtained by the AP provides probably the most detailed account of the case yet, including documents explaining why the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the 27-year-old soldier’s version of events didn’t match the evidence. For example, an inspection of Lewis’ automobile revealed that the accident had disconnected the vehicle’s battery and rendered it immobile.

Footage of the chase was never made public. It was first obtained by the authors of a brand new book on racial and economic inequality titled “Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Created the Black-White Wealth Gap.” Louise Story and Ebony Reed shared the video with the AP, which verified its authenticity and obtained additional documents under Georgia’s open records law.

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The footage doesn’t include visuals of the particular shooting, which took place outside the camera’s field of view. However, it does show the important thing final moments in which Thompson performs a police maneuver to cause Lewis’ automobile to fall right into a ditch. The officer’s cruiser then pulls up parallel to Lewis’ vehicle and Thompson’s voice barks, “Hey, hands up!” Before he can finish his warning, a shot is heard.

Documents show Thompson fired just 1.6 seconds after the cruiser stopped.

“This guy just came out to shoot” and didn’t give Lewis “even enough time to react” to his orders, said Andrew Scott, a former police chief in Boca Raton, Florida, who wrote a dissertation on police chases.

“This goes beyond a stupid mistake,” added Charles “Joe” Key, a former Baltimore police lieutenant and use-of-force expert who has consulted on hundreds of such cases.

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Key also disagreed with the maneuver to disable Lewis’ vehicle, saying it was also unjustified. He considered Thompson’s claim that he fired since the engine was revving at high speeds to be “total nonsense”.

“I’m not a fan of running from the police,” Key said. “But that doesn’t put him in the category of people deserving of being shot by the police.”

Thompson was fired and arrested on murder charges per week after the Aug. 7, 2020, shooting that occurred during summer protests following the police killings of George Floyd and other Black people. The soldier was denied bail and spent greater than 100 days in jail.

But in the tip, Thompson was released without trial. A 2021 state grand jury declined to bring an indictment. The district attorney overseeing the case closed it last fall when federal prosecutors also ruled out civil rights charges.

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At the identical time, the U.S. Department of Justice quietly entered right into a non-prosecution agreement with Thompson, barring him from working in law enforcement again – a move that was extremely unusual and brought little comfort to Lewis’ family.

“It’s not good enough,” said Lewis’ son, Brook Bacon. “I thought that the shortcomings that occurred at the state level would be more closely scrutinized at the federal level, but that clearly isn’t the case.”

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The state of Georgia paid a $4.8 million settlement to Lewis’ family in 2022 to avoid the lawsuit.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, which reached a non-prosecution agreement with Thompson, declined to debate the matter, saying only that the Justice Department had communicated with the Lewis family “in accordance with the law and Justice Department policy.”

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District Attorney Daphne Totten didn’t reply to requests for comment. Neither Thompson nor his attorney Keith Barber would discuss the case.

Because Georgia law doesn’t require troopers to make use of body cameras, dashcam footage is the one video of the shooting.

“This is a heartbreaking case that shines a light on the complexities and difficulties black families face in interacting with the justice system,” said Reed, a former AP journalist and one among the authors who first obtained the footage.

Lewis worked odd jobs as a carpenter and handyman. Relatives said he helped put a brand new roof and façade on a neighborhood church, and repaired the homes’ plumbing and electrical systems. He often charged family and friends only for the materials.

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“He was just a good man with a kind heart,” said Tonia Moore, one among Lewis’ sisters. “Everyone has flaws”.

Lewis also struggled with drugs and alcohol. He served time in prison for cocaine possession and multiple DUI offenses. After the shooting, blood tests showed alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine in his system.

Thompson, who had been policing Georgia highways for six years before the shooting, was described in a performance review as “hardworking and aggressive.” Personnel records show that he was in charge of DUI arrests and preferred to work at night to extend his probabilities of catching impaired drivers.

Days after the shooting, Thompson told GBI investigators that he used a tactical maneuver to finish the pursuit – which he estimated had a maximum speed of 65 mph (105 km/h) – out of concern that the pursuit was approaching a more populated area. It acted immediately after Lewis’ automobile rolled without stopping at an intersection with a stop sign.

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Thompson said that when he got out of the patrol automobile next to Lewis’ automobile in the ditch, he heard the Nissan’s engine “revving at a high rate of speed.”

“It appeared to me that the perpetrator was trying to use his vehicle to hurt me,” Thompson said in an audio recording of the interview with the GBI obtained by the AP. He said he fired “out of fear for my life and safety.”

In the dashcam footage, a brief sound like a running engine might be heard just before Thompson shouted a warning and fired his shot. Less than two minutes later, the soldier might be heard saying, “Jesus Christ! He almost ran me over.

According to GBI case records, Thompson fired on the open driver’s side window of Lewis’ automobile, lower than 10 feet away.

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Agents on the scene found that Lewis’ front tires were pointing away from the trooper’s cruiser. They also determined that Lewis’ automobile had no power after the Nissan hit the ditch. Lifting the hood, they found that the battery had fallen on its side after the attachment had been broken. One of the battery cables was loose and the engine air filter housing was partially open.

Investigators later conducted a field test of Lewis’ automobile, during which they connected the battery and began the engine. When the agent disconnected one among the battery cables, the automobile’s engine immediately stopped. Similarly, opening the air filter cover resulted in engine death.

Because grand jury proceedings are generally secret, it’s unknown why the panel declined to indict Thompson in June 2021. Georgia gives law enforcement officers the prospect to defend themselves before a grand jury, a privilege other defendants should not have.

Totten, the district attorney, selected to not retry, stating in a September 28 letter to the GBI that “no new evidence was presented in this case.”

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For Bacon, Lewis’ son, the dearth of charges is an open wound. He worries that nobody will remember what happened, given nearly 4 years have passed and the variety of other people killed by police in questionable circumstances.

“It’s hard for someone to go back that far, especially if they haven’t heard about it to begin with,” he said. “But these problems haven’t gone away.”

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com

Crime

RAPER ROD WAVE stands in front of a dozen or so loads, some of the weapons in Georgia

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The rapper referred to as Rod Wave will face a dozen or so charges, some engage the gun after he entered the officials of the sheriff in Georgia on Tuesday.

Wave, whose real name is Rodarius Green, voluntarily surrendered to the Fulton Sheriff Office regarding orders arising from the Police call of April 21 in the suburbs of Milton in Atlanta, the police said.

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“There is no truth in these allegations,” said the lawyers of rapper Findling and Marissa Goldberg in a statement for the Associated Press.

“Rod Green was a victim of burglary and did not commit any crimes,” they said. “How he was even accused as a result of this situation is incomprehensible. It will be absolutely resolved for Mr. Green.”

Police Milton responded to a house in the city north of Atlanta after the report from 911 described “possible home interference,” the police said in a statement.

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The police said that the officers determined that the connection was related to previously unpaid burglary and release of firearms. Later they obtained arrest warrant for Green, who was a resident of the house.

The allegations include an exacerbated assault, a conspiracy aimed toward committing a crime, criminal property damage and referring or aiming at someone weapons and hindering legal officers, show the files of the Fulton Fulton prison. He can be accused of manipulating evidence – a crime – and obstructing legal officers.

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He was released from Bond shortly after he turned the same day on Tuesday, the authorities reported.

The 26-year-old rapper in Florida is well known for his soul trap, a unique combination of R&B and Rap, which brought him 11 Singles Certified Platinum by the American Industry Association. Four of his six albums hit No. 1 on the best list of albums Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop, including his latest, “Last Lap” from 2024.

This yr he brought the title song Sing Title “Sinners” to the Ryan Coogler record, recognized by critics Hit with the same name.

Green grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he had not less than one past with the law before The national battery charge has been rejected in 2022

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The ex -girlfriend accused Green of entering the house in the Orlando area and choke her, while their two children were in a different room, in response to the arrest warrant. They each arranged for about 4 years, and the girl told investigators that Green accused her of seeing other men during their breakdown.

Later, prosecutors told court officials that the case is just not suitable for prosecution.

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“Protection of his public image was very important”: a psychologist, former assistant to testimony at the Diddy trial

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Dawn Hughes, a clinical and criminal psychologist certified by the management board, testified on Wednesday in a federal case for criminal trade against hip-hop tycoon “Diddy” Combs.

Hughes, who particularly testified as an authority in the process of defamation of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp in 2022, said that she was in court to provide contextual details about individuals who experience domestic violence and traumatic stress.

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“They (survival that survived) experience great shame, humiliation, degradation,” said Hughes, discussing sexual abuse, According to CNN. “They don’t want to talk about it. They don’t even want to think about it in their brain.”

In the case of people used, Hughes testified that many remain in relations, and financial dependence and lack of resources are the most important aspects why someone stays.

Tabitha Brown refers to negativity after he talked about the influence of the target boycott on black authors:

She also talked about trauma ties and the way offensive relationships often have a component of love and kindness for them, which hinders the departure of individuals who survived.

“There is such a pattern of return and reconciliation and then returning,” Hughes testified.

During her testimony, she explained that abuse could seriously affect memory, which hinders individuals who survived the recall of individual incidents. However, individuals who survived can remember the event more often if it coincided with a significant date, comparable to the anniversary, holiday or birthday.

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However, the defense lawyer Johnathan Bach was incompatible.

As interrogated Bach Dawn Hughes, she testified that she had not checked the specific details of the case. Her interrogation led to several side strips when the defense of the control of her six meetings with the prosecutor’s office, some of which took place after the trial began. As a blind witness, her role was only in providing knowledge about domestic violence and sexual abuse, not comments on the details of the case. She maintained that the discussions between the prosecutor’s office and her didn’t contain detailed details about the case.

Bach also questioned Hughes’s credibility, arguing that she approached the stand with a specific “perspective”. The court further warned that witnesses could possibly be “dangerous” because of the “aura of power” they carry.

A member of the cast

After Hughes, he was a former executive assistant of Combs, George Kaplan, he took a position. Kaplan, who joined Combs Enterprises in 2013, testified that he worked from 80 to 100 hours a week. His duties included ensuring that the chef and cleansing staff were prepared for the whole day and preparing the Bathroom Comb with medicines. He exchanged each day connections with Combs, who expressed what he needed, allegedly included drugs or alcohol.

Kaplan also testified that part of his responsibility was to protect the image of Combs.

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“Protecting him and protecting his public image was very important and it was something that I really wanted to do,” said Kaplan.

Kaplan testified that just about every month Combs allegedly threatened his work. Combs allegedly wanted to be surrounded by the best, and “people around him did not perform at this level,” Kaplan reminded.

At the starting of the day, a special agent Gerard Gannon ended his testimonies, expressing that agents who searched Comb ‘Miami Beach House in March 2024, found a range of pills and a “crystal substance resembling rock” in the Gucci COMBS bag. There were also six people at home, including a music producer, real estate manager and other facilities.

Looking to the future, the musician Kid Cudi is to testify on Thursday morning.

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Skai Jackson addresses the order to refrain from his son’s father regarding allegations of domestic violence

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Skai Jackson, a 23-year-old actress and graduate of Disney Channel, asked for a order to stop Los Angeles against her son, Deondre Burgin, claiming that he physically attacked her, threatened her life and damaged her personal property, and damaged her personal property, and damaged her personal property, reports people.

According to court documents, on Mother’s Day, Jackson claims that Burgin attacked her, hitting his head on the window of the automotive and hitting her in the face. Jackson claims that in the attack she kept their newborn son Kasai.

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He also claims in reporting that Burgin physically attacked her during a relationship, suffocating her and slamming her in the partitions, and in some unspecified time in the future, when she was pregnant, she demanded that she drink the bleach to end the pregnancy. He also claims that Burgin threatened that he was stabbing her stomach and held her at KnifePoint.

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In one incident described in the documents, while Jackson claims that he locked himself in the bathroom to escape from him, Burgin allegedly hit the door and strangled her until she couldn’t breathe.

The son of Jackson and Burgin, Kasai, was born in January 2025, and in February Jackson told people who he enjoys motherhood. “I love to be a new mother. It’s so exciting. So exciting. I’m here tonight, I miss my child already. But it was a great month with my new toddler,” she said during the 56th NACP Image Awards.

Burgin has not yet responded to claims against him.

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