The Atlanta City Council on Monday unanimously approved a $1.475 million settlement for the parents of a teenager killed by an off-duty police officer in January 2019.
D’Ettrick Griffin, 18, was shot by Officer Oliver Simmonds, who was off duty at the time, after Griffin drove away from a gas station in the officer’s unmarked patrol car, according to investigators. Simmonds was later acquitted of Griffin’s murder during his September trial.
In October 2020, Griffin’s parents, Gaysha Glover and Courtney Griffin, filed a lawsuit against the city of Atlanta, Simmonds and former police Chief Erika Shields, alleging the officer acted overly aggressively and that the city had been permissive toward officers’ bad behavior. The case was tentatively scheduled to go to trial this month.
The settlement will bring that case to a close.
“We are pleased that the City Council approved this settlement,” the family’s attorney, Eric Fredrickson, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “While no resolution can heal the profound loss of their son, we hope this brings Courtney and Gaysha some measure of closure after more than four years of litigation.”
On the night of Jan. 15, 2019, Simmonds had stopped to get gas, got out of the vehicle and left the keys in the ignition when Griffin got into the driver’s seat, investigators previously said.
According to the GBI, Griffin began to drive off before Simmonds tried to stop him, firing multiple shots at Griffin. The car traveled a short distance before crashing into two parked vehicles. Griffin was found dead inside the car.
In October 2022, a Fulton County grand jury indicted Simmonds for murder. Simmonds, who at one time was assigned to former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ security detail, turned himself in and was booked into jail. He was later released on a $50,000 bond and retired from his position as an Atlanta officer.
During his September criminal trial, Simmonds said his jacket was caught in the door of the vehicle and his right foot was run over as Griffin drove away.
“I was so devastated, I feared for my life,” Simmonds testified, adding that he pulled out his service weapon and fired at Griffin in the fleeing vehicle.
Griffin’s family contested those circumstances in their civil suit, saying Simmonds hadn’t produced evidence of the damaged jacket and citing an expert witness who found that the boy was shot at from a greater distance than if Simmonds had been right next to the car, according to filings in that suit.
Griffin’s family believed the shooting was not justified. The teen had turned 18 about three weeks before his death, and he was set to graduate from West End Academy that spring, his family previously said. The alternative school’s principal, Evelyn Mobley, spoke at Griffin’s funeral, which was captured on video.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
According to the council’s resolution, the city attorney believed it was in the best financial interest of the city to settle the case.
“The city attorney considers it to be in the best interest of the city to settle all claims against the city,” the resolution states.
On Tuesday, Simmonds’ attorney, Jackie Patterson, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he and his client believe the Griffin family deserved the settlement.
“My client, Mr. Simmonds, is devastated he had to take the life of Mr. Griffin. My client is grateful he was found not guilty because he was defending himself,” Patterson said. “I believe the city made the right decision by trying to make this family whole again. Myself nor Mr. Simmonds have no issue to the city paying out money to the family members because they did lose their son.”
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