The man who was shot by an Atlanta Police officer in February said he still "can't understand" how an interaction between him and the officer escalated and ended in gunfire. Now, he and his family are looking for justice.
The Cochran Firm held an 11 a.m. press conference on behalf of their client Noel Hall Thursday afternoon, addressing the incident.
A synopsis
The officer-involved shooting took place in downtown Atlanta late Saturday evening, Feb. 25, 2017. A supervisor with the APD, Sgt. Mathieu Cadeau, was directing traffic outside of a motorcross event at the Georgia Dome when he shot Hall, who was leaving the event in his vehicle.
Photos | Cop shoots man driving in downtown Atlanta
According to the GBI, Cadeau had instructed Hall to continue straight down Northside Drive in front of the Dome, but Hall wanted to make a turn down Ivan Allen Boulevard. At some point, Hall moved his car to go around Cadeau and shortly after, the officer opened fire. It is still unclear why Cadeau shot Hall, and information provided by both the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Atlanta Police Department have given few details into what really happened.
An 'important' press conference
Hall's attorney, Shean Williams, started off the press conference by stating that the public needed to know some "specific things" about Hall's experience the night he was shot.
According to Williams, Hall and his family were out of state visitors and were here to attend the motorcross event that they've driven to for years that's an "annual tradition" for them. This year, Hall's 22-year-old son was also participating in the event.
Hall and his family were allegedly trying to turn down Ivan Allen Boulevard to get to the pit area with their son before the incident began. According to Williams, Hall showed the officer a pass, but was "ignored." During the press conference, Hall noted that he was polite during their short interaction while Officer Cadeau was "very rude."
Hall said he tried to drive around the officer, and that's when he heard a noise. Hall said he thought Cadeau "smacked the side of his van," then he "looked down and had a red shirt on" that was saturated in blood. Moments later, his wife dialed 911.
"It felt like everything sped up, but also felt like it was in slow motion," Hall's wife said. "It was so unreal that it took a minute to comprehend that we'd just been shot at."
Hall was transported and treated for his gunshot wounds in his arm and chest and later released.
PHOTOS | Man shot by Atlanta police officer injuries; graphic content
Investigators still have not indicated whether the officer felt threatened, which promoted him to open fire, but Williams claimed that "at no point did Mr. Hall every attempt to hit, run over or charge at Cadeau in his vehicle."
Hall said his family also weren't aware that Cadeau was an officer because he never made it known and a traffic vest was covering any identifying clues. They also claim they never saw a gun until after they were shot.
During the press conference, Hall called the entire experience "traumatic" and previously released a full statement on the incident calling it completely unjustified. He's now hoping for justice.
"Justice needs to be done," Hall said. "Something needs to be done to him where this doesn't happen to another family."
Watch the entire news conference.
The officer
Sgt. Mathieu Cadeau has been with the Atlanta Police Department since 2007, according to his personnel file obtained by 11Alive.
According to the file, he has been cited multiple times for "maltreatment or unnecessary force." Because of that, Williams said "it does not surprise us this shooting with Mr. Hall occurred."
Another Atlanta couple in 2013 had a "violent confrontation" interaction with Cadeau, according to Williams. That couple filed civil charges against the officer after. The investigation is complete and is now pending in district court.
