A federal lawsuit filed by the parents of a teenager killed by a Cobb County police officer two years ago has been dismissed.
Vincent Truitt, 17, was shot twice in the back July 13, 2020, after a police chase near Six Flags Over Georgia ended behind a warehouse on Riverside Parkway. He died the following day at Grady Memorial Hospital.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee dismissed the case Monday for “failure to state a claim.” Jackie Patterson, who represented the Truitt family, said Boulee gave them six months to refile the case under state law. The family is weighing its options.
“While we are extremely disappointed in the judge’s ruling, we certainly do respect that ruling. The judge ruled that because Mr. Truitt had a gun in his hand at the time and was a passenger in a stolen vehicle, the judge ruled that the officer was justified and that his life was in (danger) at the time he shot Mr. Truitt,” Patterson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday.
Since the federal claims were dismissed with prejudice and the state claims without prejudice, a lawsuit can only be refiled in state court, Patterson said.
Truitt jumped out of a stolen Nissan Altima with a gun but appeared to be running away from Officer Max Karneol when he was shot, according to the officer’s body camera footage. A still shot from the footage appears to show the gun in Truitt’s hand. The weapon was later recovered at the scene, authorities said.
The $150 million wrongful death lawsuit, filed in January against the county and Karneol, was believed to have been the most money sought in a deadly police shooting in Georgia history, the AJC previously reported.
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Credit: Daniel Varnado
In a statement, Cobb County Attorney William Rowling Jr. said they always believed the shooting was justified.
“Since first being made aware of this officer-involved shooting in the summer of 2020, we have remained unwavering in our belief that the shooting, though unfortunate, was legally justified,” he said. “We were pleased to find out that the federal court agreed with our position.”
After being presented the case and deliberating for nearly eight hours in February 2021, a grand jury decided not to charge Karneol.
Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs, who also represents the family, issued a statement Friday expressing his and the family’s disappointment in the judge’s ruling.
“We respectfully disagree with the decision of the judge and are evaluating the next legal options available, including possible state law claims,” Griggs said. “The family will continue to fight for justice for Vincent Demario Truitt.”
Karneol is still employed by the Cobb County Police Department, where he’s worked since 2016. His Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council certification remains in good standing and he has no disciplinary history with the agency, records show.
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