A former Woodstock police officer surrendered Monday, days after being indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the shooting of a 20-year-old Marietta man six months ago, according to the Cobb County district attorney.
Grant Matthew Shaw of Canton is accused of killing Emmanuel Millard in October after an attempted traffic stop and chase, according to investigators. Shaw resigned from his position one week later.
The GBI was asked to conduct an independent investigation of the shooting, and the officer involved — later identified as Shaw — was placed on administrative leave, which police said is standard procedure. After the GBI’s investigation was completed, the findings were released to Cobb DA Flynn Broady’s office.
Last week, a grand jury declined to indict Shaw on charges of felony murder and assault, indictments show. Instead, he was indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge, a felony.
Shaw, 23, was being held without bond in the Cobb jail late Monday.
Shaw “while in the commission of reckless conduct, an unlawful act, did cause the death of Emmanuel Malik Millard, a human being, without any intention to do so, by pointing a Glock model 34, 9 mm firearm at Emmanuel Malik Millard while his finger was on the trigger, thereby endangering the bodily safety of Emmanuel Malik Millard ...” the indictment states.
Officers attempted to stop Millard around 10:45 p.m. on Oct. 12 after a series of traffic offenses, including failure to maintain lane, near the area of Alabama Road, or Ga. 92, and Hames Road, police previously said.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
Millard didn’t stop and a pursuit ensued, authorities said. Police were able to stop the gray Hyundai using a PIT maneuver, which caused Millard to crash about five miles away near Alabama and Old Mountain Park roads in Cobb.
“During the attempted arrest of Mr. Millard, an officer discharged his weapon, striking Mr. Millard,” Woodstock police said in a statement at the time.
Two days later, Millard died from his injuries after being shot in the head.
On Monday afternoon, the attorney for his family said Millard wasn’t a danger to anyone during the incident. Andrew Lampros said he was permitted to view some police video of the incident.
“At the time of the shooting, he was complying with the officer’s commands,” Lampros told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There’s no explanation at all. He was unarmed and not a danger in anyone.”
The family is grateful for the work done by the Cobb DA’s office, Lampros said.
On a GoFundMe page she created, Millard’s mother said in addition to funeral costs, she said she was raising money to get justice for him.
“We are facing mounting expenses, from funeral costs to legal fees, in our pursuit of justice for Emmanuel,” Lenette Millard wrote. “Your kind donations will help us relieve some of the financial burden and allow us to focus on seeking truth and justice for my son.”
In a separate incident, Cobb court records show Millard was indicted in August on charges including possession of marijuana with attempt to distribute, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and theft by taking.
Shaw began working for Woodstock police in May 2021, according to Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records. He had no disciplinary history with POST at the time of his resignation.
Millard’s death was the 78th officer-involved shooting the GBI was asked to investigate in 2023. By the end of the year, the state agency said it had investigated 103 such shootings. So far this year, there have been 20 shootings involving officers in Georgia.
The majority of shooting cases involving officers do not lead to criminal charges, but it does happen.
In February, two DeKalb County police officers — one former and one current — were indicted in the 2022 shooting death of a man in Stone Mountain.
Former officer Russell Mathis, 30, was indicted on charges of felony involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor reckless conduct, while current officer Jordan Vance, 30, was indicted on a charge of reckless conduct in the death of Marando Salmon, 37, at a home on Autumn Crest Court on Nov. 4.
Warrants were issued for Mathis and Vance after the indictment and they surrendered to the sheriff’s office and were both booked into the DeKalb jail. Vance was released on a $3,000 bond and Mathis on an $8,000 bond, jail records show.
