Advocates for and against prosecuting a Union City police officer involved in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old continue to make their case as Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard mulls a just-completed GBI investigation into the incident.
Howard received the GBI's findings on Friday. A day later, Union City police alleged for the first time that Ariston Waiters "grabbed the officer's service weapon" as he was being handcuffed Dec. 14.
"During the struggle, our officer discharged his service weapon mortally wounding Waiters," Union City police said in the statement.
Mawuli Mel Davis, the attorney representing Waiters' mother, said the statement was released in anticipation of a demonstration planned Tuesday night prior to a Union City council meeting.
"They're trying to discourage people from coming down by saying Ariston deserved to be shot twice in the back," Davis said. "If someone's back is turned towards you, how can they pose a threat?"
Organizers of Tuesday's demonstration say they have distributed nearly 5,000 flyers to drum up support. A number of religious and civic groups are involved, including Occupy Atlanta. That group's spokesman, Tim Franzen, said he expects a large contingent to attend.
About 5 to 10 masked individuals crashed a similar protest in late December, spray painting anti-police rhetoric on government buildings. Their conduct was denounced by organizers who said only peaceful demonstrators were welcome at Tuesday's rally.
Union City police said they would be ready in case any violence breaks out.
Howard is expected to announce whether he will file charges within the next month.
Davis told the AJC he has not seen the GBI report, which was not made available to the media. The attorney and Waiters' mother, accompanied by civil rights activists, met with Howard two weeks ago and emerged confident that action would be taken against the Union City officer.
In their latest statement, Union City police said witnesses said Waiters had fired shots into the air during a fight in the Hickory Park subdivision. They did not say if Waiters, who fled the scene, was armed when confronted by the officer who eventually shot him.
Officials also denied allegations of witness intimidation, saying the GBI was informed immediately and had agents in Union City the evening after the shooting. An investigator from the Fulton D.A.'s office was also present, police say.
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