Prosecutors in the U.S state of Georgia have stated that there would be no criminal charges brought up against a police officer in Savannah for the shooting which killed a man last year during a routine stop and search.
On the 17th of July, 2021 a 36 year old man Maurice Mincey was shot outside a home by an officer of the Savannah Police Department Officer Thomas Love. The District Attorney in Chatham county, Shalena Cook made this known in a statement given on 6th of June, 2022, she argues that the actions of the officer was justified given the conditions that were at play at the time of the shooting.
In describing the conditions, she noted that while it is a sad situation whenever there is the loss of a life, the fact that the deceased was in possession of a firearm, and that he refused to respond to the instruction issued to him by the officer and his unanticipated exit from the vehicle, all of this coupled together created a genuine suspicion in the mind of the officer that the deceased was likely a risk to both the officer as well as other persons in the proximate area.
During the investigations conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, the findings revealed that at about 9:30 p.m the officers of the Savannah Police Department stopped a vehicle when the vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign, while a conversation was ensuing between the officers and the deceased, the deceased was moving around suspiciously inside the car and the officers asked him to show his hands. When the deceased opened the door of the car, he had in his possession a firearm particularly a Smith and Wesson Semi-automatic 9mm pistol, it was at this point that the officer from the Savannah P.D. fired at Mincey, the shot was fired from the driver’s side door and it hit the deceased in the back of the door. Footage from the incident actually showed the gun sliding from the hands of the deceased, this footage has not been released to the public however the family of the deceased have been shown the video. It was a sore sight for them as they could not stomach the sight of the death of their kin.
The lawyer to the family told newsmen that he expected to obtain the entire incident report from the office and thereafter they would decide on the next course of action to take. The case has officially been closed by the D.A’s office and the Mayor opined that it was time for the county to move forward from the sad incident bearing in mind that it was not to be considered a victory, rather it was to be looked at as the system’s response in the best way it could.