As the investigation into the fatal officer shooting of a man continues, the Buckhead restaurant where it happened has since reopened.
Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse in the 3100 block of Piedmont Road, closed for a couple of days but the restaurant reopened Saturday. The restaurant’s corporate entity, which has locations all over the world, is providing counseling for their employees and plans to continue to do so as long as it’s needed.
The restaurant is also helping the security guard injured during the shooting and his family. The company said the decision to reopen was left for the local team in Atlanta to decide. Employees at the Buckhead location were paid their full salaries while the restaurant remained closed.
Nygil Cullins, 22, was at Fogo de Chao Wednesday night when he was shot and killed by Atlanta police responding to the scene. Upon arrival, officers encountered Cullins near the bar.
According to police, Cullins was uncooperative while trying to escort him out of the restaurant. One of the officers used a Taser, which had a negative effect on the Cullins. The struggle continue towards the front doors, where Cullins tried to leave but was tackled by a restaurant security guard.
According to Atlanta police, Cullins pulled out a gun, fired one shot and struck the guard. Officers responded to that shooting by fatally shooting Cullins. According to the GBI, Atlanta Police Officers Andrew Strutt and Alex Luebbehusen discharged their firearms.
According to Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records, Luebbehusen joined the Atlanta Police Department as a cadet in June 2019 before becoming an officer in December 2019. He has no sanctions or investigations on his record and has received 15 hours of use of force training, including eight hours of use of deadly force training, and four hours of deescalation training over the past three years.
Strutt started his law enforcement career at the State Board of Pardons and Paroles in 2013 before leaving in 2015 to join the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, where he remained until November 2019. Strutt joined APD as a cadet in December 2019 and became a peace officer in August 2020.
According to his Georgia P.O.S.T. records, Strutt has received 20 hours of use of force and use of deadly force training and six hours of de-escalation training since joining law enforcement. Strutt has 40 hours of crisis intervention team training from 2014, while Luebbehusen has no mental health training on his Georgia P.O.S.T. record.
The GBI is investigating the incident.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
Three 911 calls were released by Atlanta police regarding the shooting.
In the first of two calls made by the manager of the restaurant, Cullins is described as having a gun and “acting very weird.” The manager said Cullins never pointed the gun at any of his employees but was yelling at them and was drinking alcohol from the bar.
During the call, the manager told the 911 operator that Cullins walked in but didn’t want to sit in the dining room. At the bar, Cullins tried to order the most expensive drink on the menu. According to the manager, Cullins walked to the salad bar and started grabbing food and continued yelling at the employees.
The manager told the 911 operator Cullins was wearing sunglasses. Almost 15 minutes after the initial call, the manager called 911 again and told the operator that Cullins had begun grabbing bottles from the bar and that he had a gun but had not pointed it to anybody.
The first call was made at 7:09 p.m., while the second one at 7:24 p.m. According to the Atlanta Police Department, officers were dispatched at 7:29 p.m. and arrived at the restaurant at 7:36 p.m.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Two hours before the initial call was made by the restaurant manager, Cullins’ mother, Mya Speller Cullins, had called 911 at 5:23 p.m. asking for assistance in transporting her son to a mental health institution, saying he was going through a manic episode. Cullins had been diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia and other mental health issues.
In 911 recordings released by the Atlanta Police Department, Speller Cullins can be heard telling the 911 operator that Cullins was talking to himself and hallucinating but was not violent and did not have a weapon. She specifically requested someone trained in dealing with people with mental health.
The 911 operator can be heard saying paramedics were being sent to the Cullins’ apartment on Marietta Street. According to the Atlanta Police Department, first responders were not dispatched until 6:21 p.m., almost an hour after Speller Cullins made the call and arrived at the apartment on Marietta Street at 6:45 p.m., an hour and 22 minutes after the initial call was made and 24 minutes before the restaurant manager called 911.
— Staff writer Caroline Silva contributed to this report.
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