FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 22, 2023
Family of Tortuguita Plans to Hold Sit-In at Georgia State Capitol
ATLANTA, GA — On Saturday, March 25, 2023, the family of Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán, other families who have lost loved ones to police violence and brutality, will be joined by Tortuguita’s attorneys, Reverend Keyanna Jones, and other friends of Tortuguita at Liberty Plaza for a sit-in, for which folks will pose in the same manner Tortuguita was sitting when they were assassinated.
What: Justice for Tortuguita Rally at the Georgia State Capitol
When: Saturday, March 25, 2023 at Noon Eastern
Where: Liberty Plaza, Georgia State Capitol, 1 MLK Jr. Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30334
Who: Belkis Terán, Manuel Tortuguita Terán’s attorneys, Reverend Keyanna Jones, other parents who lost their loved ones to police brutality
The family of slain activist Manuel “Tortuguita” Esteban Paez Terán released the findings of the independent autopsy on March 13 that indicates Tortuguita was killed by a Georgia State Patrol (GSP) SWAT team while seated “cross-legged, with the left leg partially over the right leg,” and had their hands up, palms facing toward their upper body at the time of their death.
The full findings, conducted by forensic pathologist Kris Sperry, MD, on January 31 at the Connor-Westbury Funeral home in Griffin, Georgia, reveal Tortuguita was shot 14 times, with wounds stemming from a mixture of predominantly handgun caliber bullets, as well as both a shotgun slug and shotgun pellets with trajectories that indicate Tortuguita was facing their killers. Sperry’s report states that, “it is impossible to tell if [Tortuguita] had been holding a firearm, or not holding a firearm, either before [they were] shot or while [they were] being shot multiple times.” Notably, the report makes the observation that Tortuguita raised their “hands and arms up and in front of [their] body” during the course of the shooting.
Sperry also asserts that, “none of the identified firearm wounds exhibited any evidence of close range firing (the presence of gunpowder soot and/or stippling).” This is particularly notable, as there were gunshot wounds in both of Tortuguita’s hands, which would likely show evidence of gunpowder residue had they fired their gun at the GSP trooper. The report notes that gunpowder residue “may have been washed from the body during the first autopsy, but this is very unlikely.”
Tortuguita, or Tort, Paez Terán was murdered by a squad of Georgia State Patrol officers who report directly to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. Tort, just twenty-six years old, was shot at least 13 times by state patrol officers who continue to roam Georgia streets, not facing any consequences for taking a life. After claiming there was no body camera footage relevant to Tort’s death, the Atlanta Police Department released video footage from officers on the ground that day.
In this footage, after some muddled radio chatter, an Atlanta police officer can be heard clearly asking, “Is this target practice?” and “Man, you fucked your own officer up.” While this is the most publicized clip from the footage, it is not the only important one. Before the evident friendly-fire incident, the cops also discuss whether or not protesters were shooting at them:
“They’re shooting at us,” one officer says softly.
“Nah, that sounded like suppressed gunfire,” the officer next to him responds.
“Yeah, it did,” another officer replies.
A drone, presumably capturing footage of the day’s events can also be heard in the video, although no drone footage has been released. The officers in the video shoot pepper balls into an empty tent and proceed to walk into their own chemical spray, which causes them to cough heavily.
Regarding this tragedy, Tort’s family had these messages, among others, to say: “We are horrified by all that has happened to Manuel,” said Belkis Terán, Tort’s mother. “I never thought taking care of a park would be a dangerous thing.”
“They didn’t use body cams when they killed my son—but they did use them when they came to inform me about killing my son,” said Joel Paez, Tort’s father.
“My call to action goes to police officers…forcefully stop each other from killing civilians,” said Daniel Paez, Tort’s brother.
After taking Tort’s life on the morning of January 18, 2023, police officers continued to make multiple arrests of other forest defenders, charging them with Domestic Terrorism, and arborists continued their destructive work cutting down trees. This abhorrent disregard for life is what we are fighting against. Tortuguita’s murder and the use of the law in this manner are firsts in the history of US environmental activism. To date, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (which led the police operation during which Tortuguita was killed) have refused to name Tortuguita’s killers, meet with the grieving Paez family, or cooperate in turning over evidence to an independent investigation.
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