Black Man ‘Hunted Down Like An Animal’ and Killed By Georgia Cop, Lawyer Claims
The attorney for Anthony Green who was gunned down by a white Georgia cop said Kingsland Police Officer Zechariah Presley hunted Green down “like an animal,” reports CBS News.
The Georgia police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after state investigators said he fatally shot the Black man who was running away from him.
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Wednesday, Officer Presley surrendered to the Camden County Sheriff’s Office after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation obtained warrants for his arrest.
“It is a rare occurrence in the United States of America where a police officer is charged with killing anyone, particularly an African-American man,” said Attorney Malik Shabazz, who is also president of Black Lawyers for Justice and representing Green’s family, at a news conference Friday.
“That shows how strong the evidence must be.”
According to a GBI statement, on June 21st Presley was following a vehicle that stopped at an intersection when the driver and passenger both got out and ran away. Presley pursued the driver, who was later identified as Green.
At one point Presley, 25, caught up with Green, 33, and briefly made physical contact, but Green got away and fled, “at which time Presley fired multiple shots resulting in the death of Green,” the statement says.
Presley was “obviously stalking Mr. Green, hunting him down in a fashion that we believe is like an animal at this point,” said Shabazz.
According to NBC News, the department also released Presley’s personnel file which shows a number of weird interactions for someone who worked for law enforcement. Presley was hired last year despite admitting that he physically fought his wife, bought and sold marijuana, repeatedly shouted at people, was involved in “2-3” accidents and had been arrested for “reckless, eluding, speeding.”
The family is still waiting for the body cam video to be released. But the police department was swift in firing Presley.
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“We definitely need to see it,” said Atlanta lawyer Reginald Greene, who is also representing the family.
“These days, without the video, a lot of times what people tell you happened and what actually happened are not the same.”
Green’s family and friends are somewhat relieved the officer in the case faces charges.
“At first everybody was just frustrated because we had no answers,” said Green’s pastor, The Rev. Mack De’Von Knight of Refreshing Oasis Church in Kingsland.
“Since there’s been a charge, they have kind of calmed down somewhat.”
Presley’s next court date is set for July 17.
