A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit filed by the parents of a Venezuelan activist killed by police while protesting Atlanta’s controversial ‘Cop City’ project in 2023.
Manuel Paez Terán, 26, known as ‘Tortuguita,’ was shot dead by Georgia state troopers on January 18, 2023, during protests to stop the construction of a $115 million police and firefighter training center just outside of Atlanta.
An independent autopsy later revealed that Terán was hit 57 times – including in the right eye, chest, stomach, arms and legs – and was seated cross-legged with their hands in the air at the time of the shooting.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said officers pepper-balled Terán’s tent after they ignored orders and fired in self-defense when Terán shot at them, severely wounding one trooper.
Meanwhile, the family’s lawsuit alleged that Terán – who used they/them pronouns — panicked and fired when officers used force and infringed on their freedom of speech, with their mother claiming that her child was ‘assassinated in cold blood.’
More than a year ago, the family sued, alleging three officers violated Terán’s civil rights through false arrest and excessive force following a ‘planned’ raid on a months-long protest encampment.
On Monday, a judge ruled in favor of the officers, concluding that their use of lethal force during the incident was ‘objectively reasonable,’ according to Atlanta News First.
In a statement following the ruling, attorneys speaking on behalf of Terán’s parents said: ‘They feel they are being denied the accountability they deserve.’
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the parents of Manuel Paez Terán (pictured), who was killed while protesting Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ project in 2023
Terán’s parents, Belkis Terán and Joel Paez (pictured), expressed being ‘devastated’ by the ruling
‘The records of their child’s death still have not been publicly released. They will be reviewing all their legal options,’ they added.
Judge Steven Grimberg of the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia detailed several factors supporting his decision, including that Terán wounded a trooper after opening fire – a statement the plaintiffs acknowledged.
Terán, who was nonbinary, had spent the months before their death camping in the woods near the construction site known by critics as ‘Cop City,’ a massive project approved in an 11-4 city vote in 2023.
Six troopers approached Terán’s tent after receiving orders from a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent to clear the park, according to a lawsuit obtained by Atlanta News First.
While body-cam footage from four officers involved failed to show the shooting itself, the bureau said it captured the initial encounter in which troopers ordered Terán to leave the tent.
The agency said the environmental activist ignored verbal commands to leave, even after being warned that remaining on the site would result in arrest for criminal trespass.
Officers then fired pepper balls into Terán’s tent, which escalated into an alleged deadly back-and-forth exchange of gunfire, according to the GBI.
Investigators said the injured officer was shot with a bullet traced to a pistol Terán legally purchased in 2020. Meanwhile, the medical examiner found no gunpowder residue on Terán’s hands.
Terán’s mother (pictured) believes her child was ‘assassinated in cold blood’
Six troopers approached Terán’s tent after receiving orders from a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent to clear the park
The activists were attempting to stop the construction of a $115 million police and firefighter training center just outside of Atlanta
During Monday’s ruling, Judge Grimberg determined that the troopers did not violate Terán’s constitutional rights, and that the family cannot pursue wrongful death damages.
Grimberg said the officers’ use of gunfire was a ‘reasonable’ response to being shot at first. He added that troopers were justified in deploying pepper balls against Terán, who, accused of criminal trespass, failed to comply with lawful orders.
‘Because Paez Terán initiated gunfire with the GSP officers, Plaintiffs cannot maintain that Defendants’ actions were the proximate cause of the use of deadly force that ultimately ended the decedent’s life,’ the judge wrote.
‘Thus, Plaintiffs’ proposed amended complaint fails to state a claim for wrongful death,’ he added.
The family’s lawsuit claimed that the officers’ attempt to arrest Terán violated the Fourth Amendment.
Grimberg, however, rejected that claim, noting that the troopers had reason to believe the activist was trespassing by camping on the land overnight.
The judge further held that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that bars claims against police or government officials for alleged violations of constitutional rights.
The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it’s now permanently closed and cannot be reopened or filed again.
Terán was among those who believed the facility’s construction would lead to substantial tree loss and exacerbate flooding in a poor, majority-black neighborhoods
Protests over the training center sometimes turned violent, with the unrest triggerering a 2023 racketeering indictment against 61 protesters
Terán’s name and image still appear on murals and flyers, with their memory kept alive at Atlanta protests
Terán’s parents, Belkis Terán and Joel Paez, expressed being ‘devastated’ by Judge Grimberg’s final ruling, their attorneys Jeff Filipovits and Wingo Smith said in a statement.
The activist’s death was a pivotal moment for the Stop Cop City movement, which sought to halt the construction of an 85-acre Atlanta Public Safety Training Center on forested land formerly used as a prison farm.
Terán was part of a group of activists who warned that the facility’s construction would lead to substantial tree loss and exacerbate flooding in a poor, majority-black neighborhood.
The movement also questioned the use of tens of millions in public funds for the facility, which opponents characterized as a training site for ‘urban warfare.’
Protests over the training center occasionally spiraled into violence, as masked activists torched police cars and construction machinery.
The unrest triggered a 2023 racketeering indictment against 61 protesters, later dismissed by a Fulton County judge, with Republican Attorney General Chris Carr appealing the ruling.
Yet the Atlanta City Council approved the project in 2021, arguing that the new campus would replace outdated facilities and improve police morale amid staffing challenges following the 2020 racial justice protests.
Even with the movement quieter since the indictments and the facility’s opening, Terán’s name and image still appear on murals and flyers, with their memory kept alive at Atlanta protests.
