Nicholas Thomas, the 23-year-old man killed in March by a Smyrna police officer as he fled in a Maserati, was shot in the back, according to a Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office report.
The autopsy, conducted March 25, says the bullet entered Thomas’ body in his right upper back and moved left and downward puncturing ribs, both lungs and the aorta. Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene.
The autopsy could not determine how far away Sgt. Kenneth Owens was at the time of the fatal shot, but it notes that there was no soot or gunpowder found on Thomas’ body or clothing.
Smyrna police have said Owens fired into the car as it sped toward officers. The Smyrna Police Department spokesman said Thursday night that the department would not comment on the autopsy report. Owens has returned to the department in an administrative capacity, the spokesman said.
“The manner of death is classified as homicide,” the autopsy says. “The designation … does not necessarily indicate improper actions on the part of police.”
Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds has said that the case will likely be heard by a civil grand jury in July. Civil grand juries can recommend whether it should be considered by a criminal grand jury.
Mawuli Davis, the attorney for the Thomas family, said Reynolds should allow the family to see surveillance video that captured the shooting before it is shown to the civil grand jury.
Davis said the video will be critical since Owens was the only officer to fire his weapon, and claimed he did so because he feared for his life.
“He shot into the side of the car,” Davis said. “Unless a car can travel sideways, I don’t know how you can be in fear of your life.”
The Thomas family was not allowed to see the video when they visited the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday. The family said GBI officials told them that Reynolds instructed them to not show it.
Reynolds' office issued a statement Wednesday saying: "We are reviewing the investigations conducted by Cobb Police and the GBI. We cannot release any evidence during a pending investigation."
Felicia Thomas, Nicholas Thomas’ mother, accused the GBI of “babysitting” the investigation instead of doing their own, more thorough probe.
At the time of the shooting, Cobb County police officers were with Smyrna police officers serving the misdemeanor warrants on Thomas at the Goodyear store in which he worked.
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