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

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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.”
Featured Stories
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.”
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.
“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.
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.
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.”
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.”
Crime
Sean “Diddy” Combs rejects the final contract due to the trial on sexual trade

Sean “Diddy” Combs rejected his last probability to avoid a sexual trade process.
During the hearing on Thursday, a 55-year-old disgraced music mogel confirmed that he didn’t accept transactions of federal prosecutors, NBC News Reported.
Asked by the district judge Arun Subramanian, who led in New York, if he rejected the government’s offer, Diddy said: “Yes, your honor.”
After consulting his legal team, led by lawyer Marc Agnifilo, he didn’t plead five charges covering tribute, two cases of sexual trade and two cases of transport so as to become involved in prostitution. He denied all the allegations that were brought to him in quite a few lawsuits, wherein he accused or forced people to take part in sexual files and drug -powered sexuals.
If Diddy is found guilty, he faces an extended time behind bars. If he’s convicted of racketeers, he stands in the face of life in prison. If he’s found guilty of two allegations of sexual trade, he’s in the face of a further at the least 15 years. Meanwhile, transport for the purposes of prostitution fees has a maximum judgment of 10 years.

Details of the allegation agreement haven’t been disclosed; However, at the least one lawyer noticed NBC that it was related to a smaller sentence.
Thursday’s interrogation was the last before selecting a jury in the process, which is to start on May 5. Opening declarations to the trial are to start on May 12. The initial technique of jury began on Monday, April 28, and tons of of New Yorkers were received by questionnaires to determine their impartiality.
While Diddy, who was waiting for the trial in Brooklyn since his arrest in September, appeared in court during a trial in prison, in accordance with BBC NewsThe music director was allowed to wear “non -disconneous clothing” during the trial.
The judicial order specifies that COBS will “allow five button shirts, up to five pairs of pants, up to five sweaters, up to five pairs of socks and up to two pairs of shoes without lace in court”, according to BBC.
According to sales, this movement just isn’t unusual. The accused can often wear their very own clothes during trials, because prison clothes may cause some sworn to see crime by nature.

(Tagstotransate) Diddy
Crime
Shooting at Elizabeth City State University leaves 1 dead, 6 wounded

A 24-year-old man was killed at the Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) campus throughout the shooting on Sunday, April 27. Shooting at the Historically Black University campus at Elizabeth City in North Carolina, also hurt six others.
HBCU published statement Explaining that the shooting took place after the Yard Fest, an event that was a part of the larger Viking Fest festival, a weekly celebration of the college spirit within the campus.
“Six people were injured during the incident. Four durable gunshot wounds, including three ECSU students,” confirmed the university. “In addition, two other ECSU students were injured during the next confusion. Fortunately, none of the injuries is considered life -threatening, and all injured were transported to the local hospital for treatment.”

A 24-year-old man who was not an ECSU student was recognized as deceased. His identity is suspended in anticipation of notification of his closest relative ” – read the statement.
(*1*)
The man who died was identified as Isaiah Caldwell, According to State Bureau of Investigation.
“ECSU expands its deepest sympathies for everyone affected by this tragic event and remains involved in ensuring the security and well -being of the Viking community,” he summed up the ECSU statement.
Caldwell was a member of the University of Albany 2021 of the Social Organization of Scholarship Organization, Groove Phi Groove; organization He confirmed his departure through social media on Monday.
“With deep sadness and the deepest sympathy, we inform you concerning the premature passage of our beloved brother, Isaiah Caldwell (autumn 21 – great chapter data). Isaiah was tragically taken from the senseless and non -discriminatory violence from the pistol in Elżbiebeth City State University at Vikingfest at the University of State University University University.
Following shooting, the University moved to distant education for the remaining weeks of the spring semester, in keeping with Virginian-Pilot.

(Tagstranslate) hbcu
Crime
Pro footballer is hiding when the loved ones kidnapped in connection with the growing crime in Ecuador, the family returned safely


Wife and young son of Afro-Elecadorian skilled football Jackson Rodríguez They were secure The authorities saved by the police on April 24 confirmed, after shocking kidnapping from their house, Guayaquil. The incident in which the 26-year-old Rodríguez hid under his bed, when armed men abducted his family, he emphasizes the escalating Ecuador of uncertain uncertainty.
Police commander Pablo Dávila informed on Friday that the 24-year-old wife of Rodríguez and a five-year-old son received medical care after their dismissal and weren’t semi-bad. Insolent kidnapping He occurred early On April 24, when 4 “with a hood and heavily armed people” entered the family’s residence in the Mucho Lete district in this unstable coastal city.
According to Dávila, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of USD 500,000 for a secure return of mother and child, which the family refused to fulfill. Rodríguez, a left defender for the Emelec first division club, fully collaborated with investigators.
After intensive police operations, the abducted couple was in the “El Fortín” sector, densely populated and notoriously dangerous area in the north -western Guayaquil. . has gained an area The gloomy publicity in March, when the brutal massacre consumed the lives of twenty-two people, which is a transparent illustration of violence harassing the city. Guayaquil, positioned about 270 kilometers (170 miles) southwest of the capital of Ecuador, Quito, became the focus of the spiral wave of crime of the nation. According to law enforcement officers, its strategic port is the major channel for illegal drug shipments intended for Europe, Central America and the United States.
The kidnapping appeared against the background of the emergency declared only ten days earlier by the Ecuador government during nine provinces, including Guayas, where Guayaquil is positioned. This emergency measure authorizes the distribution of security forces to combat the growing operations of organized crime groups, which the authorities attribute to a rise in violence.
Uncertainty and crime have forged an extended shadow over the Ecuador over the past 4 years, with a transparent escalation in the early months of 2025. Government statistics reveal the stunning 2345 violent deaths reported throughout January to March, with a disproportionate 742 of those appearing in Guayaquil itself. The port city is now gloomy as one in all the most dangerous urban centers in the country.
Tragically Rodríguez and his family are usually not the first athletes who were the goal of this wave of violence. In December 2024, Pedro Perza, footballer for the de quito league, He was kidnapped Esmeraldas, city 182 kilometers northwest of Quito. He was saved alive a number of days later, emphasizing the susceptibility with which even outstanding characters face.
In his police testimonies, the head of Édison Rodriguez (with no relationship with the victim) stated that 26-year-old Fullback told him, hiding under the bed after hearing a brutal compulsory entrance to his house around 3 am the perpetrator, after determining the absence of Rodríguez, he abducted his wife and child. The player was reportedly witnessing the kidnappers escaping in a gray double cabin pickup.
The last list data from 2022 from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) has revealed an inclination for the Afro-Elecadorian community. While the census indicated a rise in the population of Mestizo, Native and Montubio, the variety of self-identification people as Afro-Elecadorian has fallen significantly in comparison with the 2010 census. The universal list in 2022 recorded 814 495 Africanadorian, which is 4.8% of the total population, which is a transparent contrast of 1,041,559 people, i.e. 7.2%, who identified themselves as Afro-Elecadorian in the 2010 list.
Africaader organizations challenged these official data, estimating that the black population is closer to 10 percent. They cite problems with performing a universal list, especially in areas affected by violence, in which the survey work proved to be difficult, which results in infirmity. And vice versa, the Ecuadorian government assigns a reported reduction in the issue of self -identification and lack of organizations in black communities.
Historically Afro-Elecadorians who First of all, he lives In the northern Coastal Province of Esmeraldas, in addition to in Guayas and other south-center coastal regions, they encountered systemic marginalization despite their significant cultural contribution. While slave ships got here to Ecuador for the first time in 1526, and the enslaved Africans worked on gold plantations and mines, the abolition of slavery in 1851 didn’t erase the lasting consequences of this brutal socio-economic system.
Africaadorian awareness gained momentum at the end of the twentieth century, which led to the recognition of Afro-Elecadorian as a separate ethnic group in the 1998 structure. However, critics indicate periods of instability and misunderstandings regarding the management of the individual.
Despite some political reforms and declarations of October 2 as Afro-Elecadorian, socio-economic indicators reveal that Afro-Elecadorians Still behind Their white/mestizo counterparts, in the face of everlasting unevenness and racial discrimination, especially in urban areas. Africaader women, in particular, experience disproportionately high level of violence.
The Working Group of the United Nations for African Zdechów also expressed fears, stating in 2019 that the Afro-Dessers constitute a surprising 40 percent of the population living in poverty in Ecuador, despite the much lower overall percentage. The UN body also criticized the denial of their rights to the clean environment, access to justice, education and decent work, emphasizing environmental racism affecting the Afro-Descendant community.
The recent kidnapping of the Rodriguez family is a transparent reminder of the ubiquitous ecuador of uncertain uncertainty and special gaps in security, in which marginalized communities struggle, including Africanadorians as a part of this crisis. While the secure rescue of his wife and son offers a ray of hope, he emphasizes the urgent need for effective government actions to unravel the original causes of escalation and ensuring the safety and well -being of all its residents.
(Tagstranslate) crime
-
Press Release1 year ago
U.S.-Africa Chamber of Commerce Appoints Robert Alexander of 360WiseMedia as Board Director
-
Press Release1 year ago
CEO of 360WiSE Launches Mentorship Program in Overtown Miami FL
-
Business and Finance11 months ago
The Importance of Owning Your Distribution Media Platform
-
Business and Finance1 year ago
360Wise Media and McDonald’s NY Tri-State Owner Operators Celebrate Success of “Faces of Black History” Campaign with Over 2 Million Event Visits
-
Ben Crump1 year ago
Another lawsuit accuses Google of bias against Black minority employees
-
Theater1 year ago
Telling the story of the Apollo Theater
-
Ben Crump1 year ago
Henrietta Lacks’ family members reach an agreement after her cells undergo advanced medical tests
-
Ben Crump1 year ago
The families of George Floyd and Daunte Wright hold an emotional press conference in Minneapolis
-
Theater1 year ago
Applications open for the 2020-2021 Soul Producing National Black Theater residency – Black Theater Matters
-
Theater11 months ago
Cultural icon Apollo Theater sets new goals on the occasion of its 85th anniversary