EAST POINT, Ga. — Devin Nolley is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police, according to his attorneys. They are now planning to sue the cities of East Point and South Fulton along with both of their respective police departments for a total of $30 million.
There are two different stories of how the shooting happened.
According to police, in December of 2018, an officer in an unmarked East Point police car noticed a stolen Black Nissan in the parking lot of a gas station. Several marked East Point Police cars and the unmarked police car followed the Nissan to the Publix parking lot on Carmia Drive.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said uniformed officers started to walk up to the Nissan when it reversed and rammed the unmarked car. The uniformed officers allegedly fired their weapons at the Nissan.
Jackie Patterson, one of Nolley’s attorneys said his client never rammed a police car.
“My client simply backed up and drove around them, and that’s when they started shooting at him at the Camp Creek Marketplace," said said.
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Nolley drove off, headed toward I-285. Officers from the City of South Fulton joined the pursuit.
The GBI said once the Nissan got onto the interstate, Nolley stopped, got out of the Nissan and was eventually captured in the wood line.
Again, Patterson gave a different version of the events, saying a police car rammed the car Nolley was driving and caused him to loose control.
“He jumped out of the vehicle, jumped over the rail to head towards the woods and that’s when they shot him four times in the back and he was completely unarmed," said Patterson. "He was shot twice in the back and twice in the legs."
The investigation was forwarded to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office and is still ongoing. However, Nolley’s attorneys sent an intent to sue notice to the cities of East Point and South Fulton, which is required by law, 30 days prior to anyone filing a lawsuit.
In the notice sent to the cities, Nolley’s attorney claim the officers shot Nolley with no legal justification.
“He (Nolley) isn’t charged with any crime at this point. So, you shoot a man, almost kill him and there’s no charges,” said Carlos Moore, Nolley’s second attorney.
Moore added even if police believed the Nissan was stolen, it didn’t justify a shooting.
“That’s a nonviolent crime, he was not a threat to anybody, why did you shoot the man? You had the car, you had the tag number, you could have found the man later on," he said.
His attorneys claimed he was 100 feet away from officers and running in the opposite direction when he was shot.
“Anyone who has studied the law, knows first day, you do not shoot someone in the back running away that is not a danger to you,” explained Moore. “Running should not equate to a death sentence or a paralysis sentence.”
Moore and Patterson said the intent to sue will be based on claims of negligence, intentional wrongdoing, civil rights violation and constitutional violations. Nolley remains in the hospital five months after the shooting.
Representatives with the City of East Point said they had no comment. The City of South Fulton has yet to respond.
