The family of a man killed by a Georgia state trooper intends to sue the state for $13 million, they announced Monday.
Julian Lewis, 60, was shot in the head on Aug. 7 in Screven County by Trooper Jacob Thompson, who GBI agents have alleged gave inconsistent statements regarding events leading up to the shooting. Thompson said he thought Lewis was about to run him over, but authorities found the car was actually disabled when the trooper fired.
The planned lawsuit, announced at a Savannah news conference, is being prepared on behalf of Lewis’ widow Betty and son Brook Bacon.
“Mrs. Lewis was very clear today that this isn’t about money,” said attorney Francys Johnson, who represents the family along with Mawuli Davis. “This is the system. The system says when a life is taken, whether it’s law enforcement or not, there has to be an accounting.”
The Georgia State Patrol fired Thompson, who was charged with felony murder within days of the shooting.
The State Patrol, whose policy is not to comment on litigation, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Authorities have said the shooting took place after Thompson attempted to stop a Nissan Sentra for a broken taillight on Stoney Pond Road in Screven County, about an hour northwest of Savannah. Thompson said Lewis led him on a low-speed pursuit down country roads, a pursuit that ended with the trooper using his cruiser to force the Nissan to stop with a PIT maneuver. A PIT maneuver involves an officer using his or her car to push a fleeing vehicle off the road. The method can be dangerous and has killed at least 30 people since 2016, according to a Washington Post investigation.
In a notice informing the state of the planned lawsuit, the family’s attorneys contend Thompson was acting as a trooper when he conducted a PIT maneuver that was unnecessary and reckless before needlessly killing Lewis.
The document also pointed out inconsistencies that authorities have revealed in Thompson’s statements about what happened, including that he shot Lewis because Lewis revved his engine as if he were going to run over the trooper. That, the attorneys say, is impossible because the PIT maneuver slammed the Nissan into a tree and ditch, disabling the engine.
The lawyers said Lewis’ family is happy that Thompson faces murder charges and is the rare officer being held without bond in a murder case.
“But the family knows the history of American jurisprudence,” said Johnson, a former head of the Georgia NAACP, arguing that almost never has a law enforcement officer been “held accountable for the murder of a Black man in this state.”
Davis, the Decatur attorney also representing the family, said they are prepared to file suit in the next month or so.
“They want justice for their loved one,” Davis said. “Part of the healing process is for people to accept accountability.”
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