The trial against a former Atlanta Police Officer started with jury selection Tuesday, months after a Fulton County Judge denied his request for immunity.
Oliver Simmonds is facing felony murder and aggravated assault charges after two counts of violating his oath were dropped.
Simmonds was indicted by a Fulton Grand Jury in October 2022 in the 2019 shooting death of 18-year-old D’Ettrick Griffin after he said the teen took his unmarked patrol car at a southwest Atlanta gas station.
A jury of seven men and seven women was seated and will be sworn in Wednesday. Prosecutors said Simmonds declined a plea offer of 20 years, with 10 years in prison and the other 10 on probation.
Simmonds, who at one time was assigned to former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ security detail, turned himself in and was booked at the Fulton County Jail on Nov. 4, 2022 and released on a $50,000 bond.
During a February hearing, Judge Eric Dunaway ruled that Simmonds did not meet the burden needed to be granted immunity and denied the motion.
“Based on the evidence and the burden on this case, I’m going to find that Mr. Simmonds has failed to carry that burden,” Dunaway said.
Credit: Jonathan Hibbert
Credit: Jonathan Hibbert
Simmonds was off duty and not wearing his uniform when he stopped to fill up his car at a gas station on the night of Jan. 15, 2019. Authorities said Griffin jumped into Simmonds’ driver seat while he was pumping gas and took off; it’s unclear if Griffin knew he it was a police car.
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, with Griffin, who was unarmed, found dead inside.
During the February hearing, Simmonds’ attorney Jackie Patterson argued his client feared he was going to get run over and citizens in the area could be injured at the time of the incident.
Patterson argued that his client should have been immune from prosecution since he was “justified in his action” because he believed that “such force or threat of force was necessary to defend himself from imminent use of unlawful force by his accusers.”
Simmonds suffered a minor injury to his foot after he was allegedly run over during the encounter. The shooting brought to light a debate over when, or even if, officers should fire at fleeing vehicles.
Atlanta Police Department policy prohibits officers from firing their weapons to stop a fleeing vehicle but carves out a broad exception that allows a “reasonable and necessary” use of force.
Simmonds was initially assigned to an administrative role after the shooting. Department officials suspended him without pay following the indictment and an emergency hearing had been scheduled to determine his fate with the department before he retired.
He joined the department in April 2010.
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