Dashcam video shows events leading up to trooper fatally shooting Georgia man

Dashcam video shows events leading up to trooper fatally shooting Georgia man

Footage of the 2020 shooting was made public after the officer avoided charges.

ByTesfaye Negussie

June 26, 2024, 9:42 PM

Dashcam footage released by The Associated Press on Monday shows the events leading up to a Georgia state trooper fatally shooting a driver in 2020 that began with a vehicle pursuit over a broken taillight, according to the AP.

Trooper Jacob Thompson, who is white, shot Julian Lewis, a 60-year-old Black man, after forcing Lewis' car off a rural dirt road in Screven County, Georgia, during the car chase in which Lewis appears to refuse to pull over for the officer in the video for several minutes.

"There was just a point where the officer no longer wanted to pursue my father," Brook Bacon, Lewis' son, told ABC News in an interview after seeing the footage. "Almost less than a blink of an eye, he was out of his vehicle and fired a shot. So, there wasn't any time for dialogue between them whatsoever."

After the trooper executed a precision immobilization technique (PIT) the night of Aug. 7, 2020, a move to force a fleeing vehicle to abruptly stall or stop, the trooper can be heard yelling orders, and a single shot can be heard off-camera within a couple seconds of the officer exiting his vehicle, a review of the video by ABC News reveals.

The video does not include any visuals of the actual shooting, which happened outside camera range.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office closed this inquiry without bringing federal charges after a thorough investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident," according to a statement obtained by ABC News from the federal prosecutor's office in the Southern District of Georgia.

Julian Lewis was 60 years old when he was shot and killed by a Georgia state trooper after Lewis appeared to refuse to pull over for the officer.Brook Bacon

A grand jury refused to press state charges against Thompson in 2021, according to the AP. The U.S. Attorney's Office reached an agreement with Thompson in which he is forbidden to work in law enforcement again, but no federal charges were pursued.

"This case was thoroughly investigated and went through the proper judicial process," according to a statement received by ABC News from the Georgia state police. The statement said all reports "will need to be obtained through the Open Records Unit."

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations, the district attorney and the Georgia State Patrol did not immediately return ABC News’ request for records of the incident.

In the dashcam video reviewed by ABC News, the officer is heard claiming that Lewis almost hit him and that he had to shoot him. But it's hard to tell how close Lewis actually came to hitting the officer in the footage since both men were out of camera view after the PIT maneuver was conducted, sending Lewis' car crashing off the road.

"We thought this video was very powerful and that the world should see it," Louise Story, a co-author of the book "Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap," who released the video to ABC News after obtaining it from the state of Georgia while working on her book, said in an interview. "It's less than a couple of seconds after the trooper hops out of the car before the gun is shot."

The state paid the Lewis family about $5 million, according to Bacon, Lewis' son. Lewis was found with alcohol, methamphetamine and cocaine in his blood after the shooting, according to the AP.

"It appeared to me that the violator was trying to use his vehicle to injure me," Thompson said in an audio recording during a GBI investigation, according to the Associated Press. Thompson said he shot "in fear for my life and safety."

Thompson shot Lewis facing the driver's side window rather than from the front of the car, according to GBI records obtained by the Associated Press. The car battery in Lewis' vehicle dislodged during the crash and rendered the car immobile and powerless, according to an investigative file obtained by the Associated Press.

"The GBI … had evidence just piled up for the [state grand] jury. This is factual evidence that just seemed to go ignored," Bacon told ABC News. "This wasn't a mistake. It was action that was taken and you have to be honest with yourself with regards to how you conduct yourself, and if that leads to guilt, then so be it."

Grand juries are often conducted out of the public's view, making it unclear why a panel declined to hand down an indictment.