A man who is paralyzed from the neck down after being shot by East Point and South Fulton police officers during a police chase has filed a $30 million lawsuit, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Devin Nolley's attorneys confirmed they've filed the lawsuit against both cities and the officers who shot him during the December incident. Nolley, 35, has remained hospitalized at Grady Memorial Hospital for nine months since the incident.
“I am totally dependent,” he told Channel 2. “I can’t even swat a fly out of my face or just scratch my head.”
The incident began as a chase after police said a car was “driving erratically” at Camp Creek Marketplace, AJC.com previously reported.
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Officers encountered it again at the RaceTrac off Camp Creek Parkway and determined the vehicle was stolen, East Point police spokeswoman Ebony Bullock told AJC.com in a statement shortly after the incident. Jackie Patterson and Carlos Moore, Nolley’s attorneys, claim the vehicle was not stolen.
Police followed the car to a Publix off Carmia Drive, and when they approached it, Nolley allegedly drove toward officers, striking an East Point vehicle, Bullock previously said. Nolley said he never tried to run over the officers.
“I did not threaten those officers in any way,” he said.
Officers fired at the vehicle, but Nolley was not hit and continued driving away, prompting a pursuit that ended on I-285 South near Washington Road. Officers performed a PIT maneuver to end the chase, which is when Nolley jumped out of the car and ran into a wooded area, police said.
“This man was running from the police unharmed,” Moore told the news station. “(Nolley) was no danger to the police or anyone else, and he was shot four times in the back.”
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The GBI was called to investigate the shooting. Soon after the incident, spokeswoman Nelly Miles said there was no evidence that Nolley had a gun. The officers involved were identified as Rodney Etienne and Shiron Varner from East Point and David Jira from South Fulton.
East Point’s city attorney wasn’t available Thursday to comment on the lawsuit. South Fulton provided a statement to Channel 2 that said its officers were assisting East Point in the incident, so it’s too early to speculate who was at fault. The city added it will thoroughly investigate and respond to any lawsuits.
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