Clayton County grand jury declines to indict six deputies in the death of Terry Lee Thurmond
Months after the death of a 38-year-old Black man while in police custody, a Georgia grand jury has declined to indict several deputies.
Court documents obtained by CNN revealed the Clayton County jurors’ decision, which came after six former officers struggled at a local jail with Terry Lee Thurmond. The ex-deputies — Ellonte Johnson, Randy Gaddy, Dionte McCauley, Fred Denson, Derrick Doyle, and Danilo Jones-Lamont — were facing possible charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct, and violation of oath by a public officer.
On Nov. 27, 2022, authorities detained Thurmond on suspicion of criminal trespassing at an airport. The day after his arrest, surveillance footage from the county jail caught the Atlanta man allegedly attempting to toss himself off the second floor. Once police could lift Thurmond from over the rail, they placed him on the walkway. Additional video showed one officer using what appeared to be a taser on the 38-year-old and multiple deputies placing their knees on his back. A medical examiner ruled his death as a homicide.
In a previous conversation with the outlet, the victim’s family’s lawyer Thomas Reynolds called the incident involving Thurmond and the officers “George Floyd 2.0″ and stated the only difference was “there were six of them on top of [Thurmond] for 16-18 minutes, and they stayed on top of him well after he was lifeless and stopped resisting.”
Reynolds revealed the family plans to pursue a civil lawsuit, citing video of the incident showed “a clear abuse of power.” The officers reportedly involved in Thurmond’s death were fired. They are currently being investigated by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, according to Chris Harvey, the council’s deputy executive director. Harvey told CNN that the probe is “independent of the criminal process” and is regarding whether the ex-cops would retain their accreditation to work in law enforcement in Georgia.
Trending Stories
