Lawyers for the family of a 23-year-old Goodyear employee shot inside a Maserati said their meeting Monday with Smyrna’s police chief left them with more questions than answers.
"They talked about the process," said Mawuli Davis, hired by the parents of Nicholas Taft Thomas, fatally shot on Tuesday outside the tire store where he worked. Officers were attempting to serve an arrest warrant for Thomas, who got into a customer's Maserati and attempted to run over officers, police said.
Davis said he’ll continue to push for an independent investigation by the GBI, a request denied by Smyrna police. Instead, Cobb County police — which provided back-up for Smyrna officers last Tuesday — will lead the probe in close conjunction with the district attorney’s office.
Meanwhile, Sgt. Kenneth Owens was identified as the officer who fired the shot that killed Thomas. Owens has been with the Smyrna Police Department since September 2001 and is the sergeant over the street crimes unit, Officer Chris Graeff said in an emailed statement.
Initially, one officer fired into the moving car, which came to a stop, Sgt. E.R. Cason said. Officers then ordered Thomas out of the car, but got no response, Cason said in an emailed statement last week.
“Due to heavy window tint on the vehicle, officers could not see into the car,” Cason said. “Thus, the officers used less than lethal bean bag rounds in an attempt to break out the passenger side window and look into the car. This was done to increase visibility into the vehicle with the ultimate goal of ensuring officer safety and rendering first aid to Mr. Thomas.”
Thomas died at the scene.
Graeff, a public information officer for the department, and Officer Mark Cole assisted Owens with serving the warrant, police said Monday.
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