Huey Thomas, the father of the 23-year-old Nicholas Thomas who was shot in the back by a Smyrna police officer in March, says his family plans to file a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation if his son’s death is not investigated properly.
Speaking to the Cobb County board of commissioners Tuesday night, Thomas produced a picture that he said shows Sgt. Kenneth Owens and another officer crouched behind a police utility vehicle with their weapons drawn. Thomas said the photograph proves that officers were not in fear for their lives when the fatal shot was fired.
Police have said they opened fire when Thomas sped toward them in a Maserati, attempting to flee the scene as they tried to serve an arrest warrant.
But an autopsy report, released last week, said that Thomas was shot in the back and died after the bullet tore through his torso and hit several major organs. At least one witness to the shooting has said the car was stopped when police opened fire.
“I have never been so disgusted in my life,” Thomas told commissioners. “You mean to tell me (the officer) ran from behind that vehicle, shot my son, and ran back behind the vehicle? That’s not what happened. That is absolutely not what happened.”
Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds has said the case will likely be heard by a civil grand jury in July. Civil grand juries can recommend whether the case should be considered by a criminal grand jury.
Thomas said he has “no faith whatsoever” that Reynolds’ office will fairly present the case, and said he doesn’t even know if Owens fired the fatal shot.
Mawuli Davis, the attorney for the Thomas family, has said Reynolds should allow the family to see surveillance video that captured the shooting before it is shown to the civil grand jury. Thomas said Tuesday that the family still has not been allowed to see the video.
“I’m just asking for the truth,” Thomas said.
Davis has said the video will be critical since Owens was the only officer to fire his weapon, and claimed he did so because he feared for his life.
“He shot into the side of the car,” Davis said. “Unless a car can travel sideways, I don’t know how you can be in fear of your life.”
Reynolds’ office issued a statement last week saying: “We are reviewing the investigations conducted by Cobb Police and the GBI. We cannot release any evidence during a pending investigation.”
At the time of the shooting, Cobb County police officers were with Smyrna police officers serving a misdemeanor warrant on Thomas at his place of employment.
About the Author
