DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Newly obtained records are revealing law enforcement accounts of some of the last words spoken by Manual Paez Teran, a protester that was killed during a clearing operation at the future site of the Atlanta public safety training facility.
A 20-page Georgia Department of Public Safety report compiles accounts from law enforcement who were part of the operation. The use of force incident report sheds light on the events that led to Paez Teran's death. The 23-year-old was known as Tortuguita or Tort within the "Stop Cop City" and "Defend The Atlanta Forest" movements.
One account describes a law enforcement officer being requested to approach the area of Paez Teran's tent. The individual describes that a protester was "completely concealed within a tent" adding that Paez Teran and another law enforcement officer were speaking but "no one was yelling."
An officer was ordering the protester out of the tent, explaining they were under arrest for criminal trespassing.
"No, I want you to leave," Paez Teran said to the officer, as detailed by the report.
Records show the law enforcement officer took the statement as that Paez Teran "had no intentions of cooperating." He warned the protester if they didn't comply, he would deploy chemical agents into the tent.
Paez Teran then questioned what they were being arrested for, in which officers explained again, the report details. The activist then unzipped a small section of the tent's door -- but did not open it completely.
"He looked through the net briefly at each person standing in front of the tent. I could not see his entire face, but I could see his eyes and one hand which was clasping the tent zipper," the officer recounts in the report. "His brows were postured in a manner consistent with an angry individual."
When officers once again said Paez Teran was trespassing, records show they started zipped up their tent, which in the report, the officer took as the activist barricading themselves "in an effort to prevent arrest."
That's when a trooper fired pepper balls inside the tent.
"Since the pepper ball system is a non-lethal system, it was the least amount of force we could use under the circumstances to effect the arrest of an actively resisting suspect," a law enforcement officer detailed in their use of force report.
Believing around five rounds of pepper balls were fired, the officer said he stopped once Paez Teran stopped trying to zip up the tent. The projectiles release a cloud of pepper irritant, similar to pepper spray and mace. They are shot by compressed air from what seems like a paintball gun, as described by the officer.
Shortly after the officer stopped firing pepper balls, gunfire from the tent erupted, reports claim. That's when the officer noticed a trooper was hurt adding that Paez Teran had fired "a significant amount" of shots, according to accounts detailed in the report.
One law enforcement officer fired a pistol, another fired at the tent with a rifle, according to the report, adding that Teran had a Smith and Wesson handgun. Six officers returned fire.
"Inside, Teran was located suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was unquestionably deceased from his wounds," a law enforcement officer said in his report. "A handgun was observed inside the tent near Teran's body."
An independent autopsy commissioned by Paez Teran's family and done by the state's former chief medical examiner reveals the activist's hands were raised while they were shot to death. Both palms show exit wounds, the autopsy shows.
However, the autopsy report deemed it impossible to determine if Paez Teran had been holding a firearm before being shot or while being shot.
The family released a statement in response to the Georgia DPS's use of force report, calling on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation "to explain what steps it has taken to preserve the integrity of its investigation of its own operation."
In the statement, the family criticizes the narratives, saying the reports were filed long after the incident. According to the documents, the full 20-page report was dated Feb. 23 -- the incident was documented as being reported to DPS on Jan. 18.
"When officers drafted these statements, each had the opportunity to review the publicly available video and the press releases issued by the GBI. As the GBI has acknowledged, 'memory and perception are fragile,' and outside factors can influence witness statements," a spokesperson for the family said.
The statement further accused law enforcement of having a perception of protesters when approaching the clearing operation.
"These incident reports reveal that officers were fed a steady supply of hearsay and vague generalities about 'domestic terrorists' before entering the forest. It is clear that all law enforcement regarded any person in the forest as guilty of being a domestic terrorist," the statement read. "The public must be reassured that the designation of domestic terrorist is not being abused as a means of stifling dissent and chilling protected speech."
The Atlanta Police Department released bodycam footage from the clearing operation at the future site of the public safety training facility. All videos can be viewed in the playlist below.