There have been 171 fatal police shootings in Georgia since 2010, according to an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News.

Ninety-nine of those cases never went to a grand jury.

Of the nine cases presented to a grand jury for a criminal indictment, one returned an indictment — and it was dismissed.

The absence of any prosecutions points to a remarkable conclusion: As far as Georgia’s criminal justice system is concerned, police officers are always legally justified when they shoot and kill a civilian in the line of duty.

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