1 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: Around eight am Wednesday, January eighteenth, a forest defender who 2 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: went by Tortegita sent out a text message that read 3 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: morning raid. Please help. Just minutes prior, a multi agency 4 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: coalition of heavily armed law enforcement officers led by the 5 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: Georgia State Patrol began a raid on the Wallauni Forest 6 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: in southeast Atlanta. Encampments have sprung up throughout the forest 7 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: since November of twenty twenty one in protest and militant 8 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 1: opposition to a proposed militarized police training facility with a 9 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: mock city to practice combating civil unrest in the wake 10 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: of the corporate funded Atlanta Police Foundation seeks to control 11 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 1: over three hundred acres of the Wallauni or South River 12 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: Forest to construct this sprawling, state of the art police 13 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: compound with a starting budget of ninety million dollars for 14 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,960 Speaker 1: its first phase of construction. The police raid on January eighteenth, 15 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three, started off pretty similar to previous raids 16 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: that had taken place in the prior months, but for 17 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: the Georgia State Patrol, seemingly it was their first time 18 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 1: leading such a raid. In the woods. Police shut down 19 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: the parking lot at entrenchment, Creek Park and nearby streets 20 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: before entering the tree line with guns drawn. Within the 21 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 1: first hour, swat teams arrested two people in the woods 22 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: and destroyed multiple tents, and then shortly after nine am, 23 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 1: forest defenders in the woods reported hearing a rapid sequence 24 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: of about a dozen gun shots. Quickly, news spread that 25 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 1: Georgia State Patrare officers shot and killed a protester in 26 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: the woods who was defending the forest, and that a 27 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: state trooper was being sent to Grady Hospital with a 28 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: bullet wound. After the gunshots rang in the air, police 29 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:18,080 Speaker 1: were quick to publicize a palatable sequence of events depicting 30 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: an exchange of gunfire rather predictably. The police claimed that 31 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: the deceased force defender had surprised to the armored swat 32 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,519 Speaker 1: team and fired first. This is Peter, a force defender 33 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: I talked with a few days after the shooting. 34 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,119 Speaker 2: So luckily I was in the woods on that day. 35 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 2: Just in a whim, I decided to stay in town. 36 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 2: The day of the shooting was really jarring. Trying to 37 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 2: figure out who was safe and who was unaccounted for 38 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 2: was like the main thing on my mind for most 39 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 2: of the day, and by the afternoon I realized that 40 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 2: it was probably taut. The last message that they sent 41 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 2: was at eight am saying morning raid, Please help, and 42 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 2: the shooting was at nine am. It was a weird 43 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 2: space to be in, knowing that it was likely toward 44 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 2: a GIDA that had died, but not being able to 45 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 2: grieve yet because not really having confirmation. The only eyewitnesses 46 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 2: were the police, and then all the other witnesses just 47 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 2: like heard noises. 48 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: In contradiction to the exchange of gunfire narrative, activists on 49 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: the ground reported hearing a single burst of gunfire and 50 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 1: suspected that the injured trooper was hit by friendly fire, 51 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: and cautioned against taking police narrative as fact due to 52 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: cops track record of lying about police killings and covering 53 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: for fellow officers. Here's Sam from the Atlanta Community Press 54 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: Collective for more information about the sequence of events that day. 55 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 3: We know from speaking to people who were in the 56 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 3: area on that day that PD the various police agencies 57 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 3: that were involved in the raid began the operation around 58 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 3: maybe seven thirty or eight. Records show that two people 59 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 3: were arrested maybe thirty to forty minutes before tort was shot. 60 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 3: Tort was shot around nine am. Some of our sources 61 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 3: that were in the woods at the time say they 62 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 3: only heard like one I guess you could call it 63 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 3: a volley of gunfire followed by a large boom. You 64 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 3: can speculate a lot about those statements, but they were 65 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 3: pretty independent. They were almost all identical and independent of 66 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 3: each other. We know that. Sorry, it's hard to talk about. 67 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: Yeah. It wasn't until late into the night that people 68 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: in the movement were able to confirm that the person 69 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: killed by the Georgia State Patrol was Manuel Tehran, also 70 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: known by their forest name to to Gita, which means 71 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: little turtle. Torti Guita was a young Queer Afro Venezuelan 72 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: twenty six year old forest defender, described by friends and 73 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: loved ones as your friendly neighborhood anarchist, as a kind, earnest, fierce, welcoming, funny, 74 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 1: exceedingly helpful and brave person. They were an artist, an 75 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: urban farmer, a trained street medic, and heavily involved in 76 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: mutual aid all across the South. This is it could 77 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:37,799 Speaker 1: happen here. I'm Garrison Davis or just Gare And after 78 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: checking in with friends and various people I know in 79 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: the movement. I made my way down to Atlanta late 80 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: Wednesday night. I've been reporting on and writing about the 81 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: Defend the Forest and Stop cop City movement since summer 82 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: of twenty twenty one. Last year, in twenty twenty two, 83 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: I put out around six hours of audio related to 84 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: the Forest encampment's protests, organized weeks of action, and the 85 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: forgotten history of the prison farm that operated on the 86 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:09,159 Speaker 1: land cop City is slated to be built on. But 87 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 1: these new episodes serve as a follow up to the 88 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 1: two part series from last May titled on the Ground 89 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: at Defend the Atlanta Forest, but the various updates put 90 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: out since then will certainly help fill in the gaps. 91 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,480 Speaker 1: This four part series will feature interviews with forest defenders, 92 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,839 Speaker 1: audio clips from on the ground in Atlanta, and accounts 93 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 1: on what's changed the past few months. Episode one, What 94 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,280 Speaker 1: You're listening to right Now will largely cover the events 95 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: around the shooting itself. Episode two will get into who 96 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: Tortigita was as a person and the stories about them 97 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: from friends and comrades. Episode three and four will cover 98 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: protests in the wake of the police killing, state repression, 99 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: and how the movement might evolve going forward due to 100 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: increasing state repression. We will be using a mix of 101 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:07,040 Speaker 1: voice distortion and re dubbed voice replacement for some of 102 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: the interviews and discussions I had with forest defenders on 103 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: the ground in Atlanta. Speaking of the next forest defender 104 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: you're going to hear from is Cricket talking about their 105 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: experiences the day of the shooting. 106 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 4: God, I mean, I can only obviously only speak for myself. 107 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 4: For me, it was terrifying. We had obviously already lived 108 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 4: through the raid in December, but when we heard someone 109 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 4: had been shot and killed, it was it was terrifying, 110 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 4: and in part because of the complete lack of information. 111 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 4: We had so few details for so long, and it 112 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 4: wasn't at least for me. It wasn't until the following 113 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 4: day that I found out that it was taught and 114 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 4: it it was just devastating. I mean, there's not really 115 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 4: words for it. It was like it felt like the 116 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 4: world stopped and then kept going. But it shouldn't have 117 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 4: like it felt like it should have stayed stopped like 118 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 4: it it shouldn't have kept turning. 119 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: After the dead shooting in the morning, the police continued 120 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: their multi agency raid of the Wallani Forest in a 121 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: pretty regular fashion, with cops reportedly firing pepperballs at people 122 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: up in treehouses and making arrests throughout the day, into 123 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: the night, and even the next morning. 124 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 3: I think a total of seven folks were arrested in 125 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 3: the forest that day. It might have been six. Six 126 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 3: arrested on the day Tourt died, and then one person remained. 127 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 3: The last tree. 128 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,960 Speaker 1: Setter, the last person arrested in the deadly police raid, 129 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,679 Speaker 1: was up in the trees overnight and surrounded by police 130 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: for about twenty hours straight. All seven people arrested in 131 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 1: the forest were charged with criminal trespassing and domestic terrorism. 132 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 3: There was one person who remained in a tree set 133 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 3: because we had some communication with them throughout the night. 134 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 3: They were just like perched in and their climbing rig 135 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 3: in a tree for about twelve hours until a little 136 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:12,959 Speaker 3: after sunrise when dekeb County SWAT moved in and took 137 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 3: them into custody. I guess you could say as they 138 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 3: were trying to repel back up the tree. They had 139 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 3: been in the tree pretty much the whole day and 140 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 3: then all night. They ran out of food and water 141 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 3: I think sometime after nightfall, and then after dark. They 142 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 3: were turning their phone on and off to conserve battery, 143 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:37,959 Speaker 3: so it was a little sporadic. They were able to 144 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 3: send us some pictures of two cops standing in the 145 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,079 Speaker 3: platform of like a trucuity used to work on a 146 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 3: telephone pole, and they both had like the SWAT operator 147 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 3: helmets on, and one of them had a long gun. 148 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 3: And then later on in the evening, four or five 149 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 3: police cars just like backed up to the tree and 150 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 3: just like surrounded the tree and shown their spotlights up 151 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 3: in the tree. And they didn't the cops didn't that 152 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:08,319 Speaker 3: were there over night. They didn't say anything. They were 153 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 3: just waiting. They were just waiting for the sun to 154 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 3: come up so SWAT could move. 155 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,560 Speaker 1: In the night of the shooting, before we even knew 156 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,880 Speaker 1: who was killed, there was a small vegil turned to 157 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,720 Speaker 1: march in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta. The 158 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: first twenty four hours after the shooting were extremely hectic, 159 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: as many people were not even sure who the police 160 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: had killed. 161 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 3: Obviously, the first thing on everyone's mind was who was killed, 162 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 3: and by late Wednesday night, some folks that help us 163 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 3: source our reporting came to us saying that they believed 164 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 3: it was this person that they believed it was Taut. 165 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 3: A lot of people's friend was just murdered by the police, 166 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 3: and folks wanted to get ahead of the police narrative, 167 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 3: and as a community press collective, of course, we wanted 168 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 3: to support the community in that, so we just immediately 169 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:17,160 Speaker 3: offered like to post whatever Towart's family and I believe 170 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 3: their their partner consented to that. That was the primary thing. 171 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 3: Once the community had kind of definitive definitively identified that 172 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 3: it was Tort, was obtaining consent from from those closest 173 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 3: to Tort to publish their name, any pictures, details, and 174 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,600 Speaker 3: we wanted to give people a way to help tell 175 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 3: everyone who was about to be paying a lot of 176 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 3: attention to the story whose Tot actually was and not 177 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 3: who the police would like people to think Torque was. 178 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: State agencies were swift in their attempts to control the 179 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 1: narrative surrounding the deadly raid. Hours after the killing, the 180 00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: Georgia Bureau of Investigation set up a press conference as 181 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: the raid was very much still ongoing. First, a GBI 182 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 1: spokesperson explained the purpose of the raid. 183 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 5: The operations goal is to secure the site of the 184 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 5: future City of Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. 185 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 1: Next, GBI Director Mike Register gave his account of the 186 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 1: day's events so far. 187 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 6: As you are aware. 188 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,079 Speaker 7: A few weeks ago, several individuals were arrested for domestic 189 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 7: terrorism in the area around the future site of the 190 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 7: public safety training facility. This morning, the GBI, with a 191 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:04,559 Speaker 7: other local state law enforcement agencies such as the CABPD, 192 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 7: Atlanta PD, the Georgia State Patrol, and Georgia DNR, conducted 193 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 7: a plan clearing operation to remove the individuals who were 194 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 7: illegally occupying the area. At approximately nine o'clock this morning, 195 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 7: as law enforcement was moving through various sectors of the property, 196 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 7: an individual, without warning, shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper. 197 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 7: Other law enforcement person there returned fire and self defense 198 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 7: and evacuated the trooper to a safe area. The individual 199 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 7: who fired upon law enforcement and shot the trooper was 200 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 7: killed in the exchange of gunfire. The GBI is working 201 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 7: the officer involved shooting and the investigation is still active 202 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:51,560 Speaker 7: and fluid. The circumstances was an individual confronted law enforcement 203 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 7: and I don't think that he was seen until he fired. 204 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 7: I'm not sure. 205 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 1: Right leader that day, a GABI statement claimed that officers 206 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:05,679 Speaker 1: located tort inside a tent in the woods and that 207 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:09,679 Speaker 1: they did not comply with verbal commands from law enforcement officers. 208 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,199 Speaker 1: The day after the shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation 209 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 1: also announced that there is no body cam footage of 210 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 1: the incident. They also claimed that twenty five campsites were 211 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: located and removed Wednesday and that quote mortar style fireworks, 212 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 1: edged weapons, pellet rifles, gas masks, and a blowtorch were 213 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: recovered unquote, after people pointed out that the list of 214 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: recovered items was absent any firearms. The next day, the 215 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,720 Speaker 1: GBI released a photo of a nine millimeter handgun allegedly 216 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 1: found at this scene of the shooting. It was the 217 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 1: only firearm police claim they found in their extensive sweep 218 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: of the forest. 219 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 3: The GBI has been as the independent agency investigating all 220 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:02,040 Speaker 3: of this. Has changed their story a little bit, which 221 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 3: it was a breaking news story. I think they first 222 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:07,920 Speaker 3: went before the cameras at noon when it happened at 223 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 3: nine am, not to grant the police any kind of 224 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 3: flee weigh at all, because Fuckham. But it was a 225 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 3: rapidly evolving situation, as they say. That said, the story 226 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 3: changed kind of dramatically over the first few days. They 227 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 3: released an initial list of items that had recovered, but 228 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:33,640 Speaker 3: it didn't mention a gun. And then when the community 229 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:37,840 Speaker 3: kind of said, hey, you said, tort shot this trooper, 230 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 3: where's the gun? Then a gun was produced. Then when 231 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 3: people still didn't believe it, the GBI said that they 232 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 3: had a bill of sale for the gun. The GBI 233 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:53,080 Speaker 3: and Georgia State Patrol have also come out and said 234 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:56,680 Speaker 3: that they won't release the identity of the trooper for 235 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 3: concerns about their safety. 236 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: Results from an independent autopsy were released on February third. 237 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: It found thirteen gun shot wounds. Attached to the report 238 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: was a statement from Tortighito's family, of which I will 239 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: read quote. The GBI has claimed that Manny shot an 240 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: officer and that the bullet matches the gun possessed by Manny, 241 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 1: but even if that is true, there are still many 242 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:26,480 Speaker 1: unanswered questions. The GBI has selectively released information about Manny's death, 243 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: says civil rights attorney Jeff Philipovitz. They claim many failed 244 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: to follow orders. What orders. The GBI has not talked 245 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: about the fact that Manny faced a firing squad when 246 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 1: those shots were fired. Or who fired them. While the 247 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: GBI has publicly stated there's no body camera footage of 248 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,160 Speaker 1: the shooting, it has not stated whether there is any 249 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: audio or other video from other sources, such as aerial 250 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: drones or helicopters that were used during the time of 251 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: the incident. The family has contacted the GBI and specifically 252 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 1: requested that it released whatever audio and video exists of 253 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: the incident, or any other information that would shed light 254 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,479 Speaker 1: on what happened. Any evidence, even if it's only an 255 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 1: audio recording, will help the family piece together what happened 256 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,400 Speaker 1: on the morning of January eighteenth. This information is critical 257 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,440 Speaker 1: and it is being withheld, said Brian Spears, a civil 258 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,640 Speaker 1: rights attorney with nearly five decades of experience litigating police shootings. 259 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: Whatever you believe about the exact series of events that 260 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: led to towards death, personally, I doubt that we'll ever 261 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 1: know what happened for sure, but regardless, the killing of 262 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,639 Speaker 1: a forced defender at the hands of police, coupled with 263 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,800 Speaker 1: the domestic terrorism charges, marks a significant escalation in the 264 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:44,199 Speaker 1: fight against copp City and even environmental activism in this 265 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,480 Speaker 1: country at large, as this seems to be the first 266 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:52,880 Speaker 1: killing of an environmental protester by US law enforcement. As 267 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 1: horrific as this escalation is, it's not out of the 268 00:17:57,080 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: blue as one might think. All the way back in 269 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: May of twenty twenty two, police were already talking on 270 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:08,680 Speaker 1: scanners about using deadly force against Stop Coop City protesters. 271 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,080 Speaker 6: Oh yeah, right, how old you four encounter? 272 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 1: So last time I was like in the woods for 273 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: a decent amount of time was like last last spring, 274 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: last summer. What how is? In what ways has like 275 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:26,359 Speaker 1: living in the woods changed since then? Like what sort 276 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 1: of developments I guess has there been? 277 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 2: Well, one thing that's changed in the day to day 278 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 2: life in the woods and the past several months is 279 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:38,920 Speaker 2: that the raids by the police have been more thorough 280 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 2: and so it's required a lot of more vigilance to 281 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 2: live in the woods and a lot more being aware 282 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 2: of places to run and hide and escape routes. 283 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: The past few months, police raids have been increasingly violent 284 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:55,560 Speaker 1: and destructive, from the demolition of the gazebo in Willane 285 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:59,000 Speaker 1: People's Park to the flattening of community gardens and the 286 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,360 Speaker 1: trashing of makes shift cafes and kitchens within the forest, 287 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:09,320 Speaker 1: using consistently escalated violent tactics. Police have routinely attacked protesters 288 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,879 Speaker 1: with chemical weapons and rubber bullets, have cut tree limbs 289 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:17,359 Speaker 1: and safety lines from under them, and reportedly threatened lethal force, 290 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: often targeting just peaceful people who were sitting in trees 291 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 1: or walking through the public park. In an article for 292 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 1: The Bitter Southerner, an unnamed tree sitter spoke about a 293 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: police raid in September twenty twenty two, where they described 294 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,879 Speaker 1: their interactions with law enforcement as such, quote, they threatened 295 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 1: to shoot me. They didn't draw their guns, but they 296 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,680 Speaker 1: talked about it. Several showed their sight arms while locking 297 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 1: eyes with me. They very easily could have killed my 298 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 1: friend in the other tree sit. It was fucking nuts unquote. 299 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: And here's a bit from Peter again. 300 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 2: Ever since the beginning, it's it's been on my mind that, 301 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 2: you know, there's a possibility of people dying in the woods, 302 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:04,679 Speaker 2: ever since I started living in the woods, beginning of 303 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:07,399 Speaker 2: the encampments. It was just something that kept coming up 304 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 2: into my mind as a possibility. I think before this happened, though, 305 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 2: people were generally under the impression that the police wouldn't 306 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 2: murder forest defenders because it would look bad for them. 307 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,000 Speaker 1: Just a month prior to the deadly January raid. Another 308 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:25,200 Speaker 1: police raid took place a couple weeks before Christmas, which 309 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:29,560 Speaker 1: resulted in the first domestic terrorism charges being levied against 310 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:33,680 Speaker 1: people arrested near the forest. In the aftermath of this raid, 311 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 1: a spokesperson for the Atlanta Solidarity Fund talked about the 312 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,399 Speaker 1: developing pattern of police escalation against the protest movement and 313 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: warned that steadily increasing police repression would lead to protesters 314 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:47,439 Speaker 1: being killed. 315 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:51,199 Speaker 8: And it's clear that if the public doesn't respond, if 316 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,600 Speaker 8: the public doesn't do something about this, that escalation is 317 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:56,679 Speaker 8: going to continue. Are we going to end up in 318 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:00,640 Speaker 8: a situation where the police are murdering protesters in order 319 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 8: to advance not public safety but their particular political agenda 320 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 8: in building Copcity. 321 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: The use of infleeted charges like domestic terrorism not only 322 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: make life for the people charged a living hell, it 323 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 1: also lays the narrative groundwork to justify extreme physical escalations 324 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,639 Speaker 1: of force and increasingly brutal crackdowns. Take it from the 325 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: GBI director himself. 326 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,399 Speaker 7: As director of MIELS said, I'm Director Mike Register of 327 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:35,280 Speaker 7: the GBI, and over the last several months, law enforcement 328 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 7: and portions of our community have experienced growing criminal behavior 329 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 7: and terroristic acts committed by individuals and groups concerning the 330 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:47,879 Speaker 7: building of Atlanta's new public safety training center. These individuals 331 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 7: and groups have attempted to disguise their activities as being 332 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 7: protests against the building of this facility. 333 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: I'm going to read a short quote from an article 334 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: for the Inhabit Territories newsletter that sums this up nicely. Quote. 335 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,640 Speaker 1: The violent escalation which led to this murder comes during 336 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,439 Speaker 1: increased and coordinated repression against the movement to Defend the 337 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:13,119 Speaker 1: Atlanta Forest, where the movement has built a diverse and 338 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 1: welcoming community through years of organizing. The police have used 339 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:22,159 Speaker 1: every tactic to bad mouth, harass, threaten, surveil, criminalize, and 340 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:27,360 Speaker 1: attack participants. Unquote. One of the forced offenders I spoke with, 341 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: who goes by Noah, talked about coming to terms with 342 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,040 Speaker 1: something that everyone kind of knew was the possibility, but 343 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,280 Speaker 1: still had this element of shock and disbelief. 344 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 9: I think it was really personally shocking. I think anytime 345 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:46,360 Speaker 9: you introduced police into a situation, you have the possibility 346 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,119 Speaker 9: of somebody dying batch what cap to do the murder 347 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:53,919 Speaker 9: with impunity. So I think like anybody who was there 348 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,639 Speaker 9: in the forest. Anybody who spent time in around activism 349 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 9: against the police knows that this is like a thing 350 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 9: that can happen to people fighting against various types of 351 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 9: state power. But it was It was really really shocked. 352 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,879 Speaker 6: And I think everyone was just kind of an a loss. 353 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 9: I personally, I mean, it's just kind of like, I 354 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,160 Speaker 9: don't know, I sat with it for a really long time. 355 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,160 Speaker 9: It was just kind of like there was an error 356 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:21,560 Speaker 9: of disbelief to it. 357 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 6: Just kind of knowing that like. 358 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:27,760 Speaker 9: These were the people we were, that we were and 359 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 9: we were fighting against them, like this is the type 360 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,240 Speaker 9: of thing that they're capable of begs being very shocked 361 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,200 Speaker 9: and really scared that like this is where we were, 362 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:39,399 Speaker 9: that like the police were now killing activists and you know, 363 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,360 Speaker 9: in all likelihood going to get away with it. It 364 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,080 Speaker 9: was a really terrifying implication for the future of the movement, 365 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,400 Speaker 9: for the future of all all social strugles. 366 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 6: In the US. 367 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,360 Speaker 1: Following news of the shooting, the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which 368 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:18,320 Speaker 1: provides bail and legal assistance to political prisoners, protesters and activists, 369 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 1: put out a statement saying, quote Georgia State Patrol's story 370 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:27,240 Speaker 1: is suspect they've released few details. We are concerned a 371 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: police cover up could be underway. We are preparing a 372 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,520 Speaker 1: legal team to investigate and pursue a wrongful death suit. Unquote. 373 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 1: Here's Cricket again talking about the trustworthiness of the official 374 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,680 Speaker 1: information being released about the shooting. 375 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:46,040 Speaker 4: And I mean, we still have so little information, and 376 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:49,360 Speaker 4: though the information that we do have is so tainted, 377 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,840 Speaker 4: it's so untrustworthy that it doesn't actually feel like information 378 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,880 Speaker 4: at all. It doesn't feel like we can it doesn't 379 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:58,520 Speaker 4: feel like information we can trust. That's sort of the 380 00:24:58,560 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 4: long and short of it. 381 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: Last month, over thirteen hundred climate justice and racial justice 382 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:07,639 Speaker 1: groups from across the United States joined Atlanta residents and 383 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: community organizations in calling for an independent investigation into the 384 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: killing of Tortaquita. 385 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,520 Speaker 3: In any police shooting, you'd like to see an independent 386 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 3: investigation because how can you let the person who shot 387 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 3: the gun investigate the crime? Right, So it was a 388 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:26,919 Speaker 3: pretty easy thing to call for, but especially given the 389 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 3: inconsistencies in everyone's story. You know, the GBI has said 390 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 3: has changed a couple times, like the sequence of events, 391 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 3: and that first like tort surprised them, then they surprised Tort. 392 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:45,200 Speaker 3: Then Tort was in a tent. You know, the narrative 393 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:49,440 Speaker 3: has changed a couple times. GSP Georgia State Patrol also 394 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 3: does not wear body cams, and that's not that's just 395 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:56,440 Speaker 3: a day to day thing for them. That's hate to 396 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,199 Speaker 3: say it, but that's not something they did specifically for 397 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 3: this raide. Just to screw the movement over, that's it. 398 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 3: It's actually the pretty well known issue in the state. 399 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 3: There were chosy to wear body camps considering how many 400 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 3: people they kill every year. 401 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:15,080 Speaker 1: Has come up that APD says that they have body 402 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:16,360 Speaker 1: camps after the incident. 403 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,920 Speaker 3: Yes, we know. The raid was kind of a joint 404 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:24,719 Speaker 3: operation between Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia State Patrol, Atlanta 405 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 3: Police Department, a Cab County Police Department, and some other 406 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:32,960 Speaker 3: state agencies. Georgia State Patrol seems to have been the 407 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 3: ones in the immediate area when it seems to have 408 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 3: been a trooper that the shot tort. Atlanta Police first 409 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 3: came out and said that there was no body cam footage, 410 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,800 Speaker 3: that they weren't there, and it seems to be true 411 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 3: that they weren't in the immediate area when the shot 412 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:52,760 Speaker 3: was fired, but they kind of later had to correct 413 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:56,119 Speaker 3: themselves and say, well, we have bodycam or the incident, 414 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 3: but we're not going to release it like. 415 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: Of the incident itself, like during the time of yes. 416 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,320 Speaker 3: Of what their officers were doing in the part of 417 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 3: the raid they were enacting when. 418 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,159 Speaker 1: We was shot. I have seen claims from both local 419 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:19,200 Speaker 1: media and law enforcement that the GBI investigation does qualify 420 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: as independent, framing the GBI's investigation into the actions of 421 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:27,920 Speaker 1: the Georgia State Patrol as this separate, non biased operation, 422 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 1: despite the GBI being fellow participants in the deadly raid. 423 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:36,400 Speaker 1: As an interesting little side note, the Georgia State Patrol 424 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 1: and the Bureau of Investigation began in late nineteen thirties 425 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:44,920 Speaker 1: as two branches of the same agency, the Georgia Department 426 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 1: of Public Safety. 427 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:48,600 Speaker 3: So the standard in the state. I'm sure a lot 428 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:51,240 Speaker 3: of places when a person is shot by the police, 429 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 3: you get a supposedly independent agency to review it. In Georgia, 430 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 3: it's usually the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, But the GBI 431 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,720 Speaker 3: was a participant in the raid. The GBI has been 432 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:10,919 Speaker 3: involved in. The GBI has been present for several forest raids. 433 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:16,840 Speaker 3: Open records requests show that They've been involved in emails 434 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 3: and conversations about the forest for quite some time. 435 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 9: Now. 436 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 3: We know their agents were unsecene or probably in the 437 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:30,080 Speaker 3: woods when Tourt was shot. In addition to that, they're 438 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 3: most state agencies. In addition to that, there's still police. 439 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 3: Police are going to cover for each other. We know 440 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 3: this by now. 441 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,880 Speaker 1: A day after the shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation 442 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,800 Speaker 1: stated that there was no bodycam footage of the incident, 443 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:50,040 Speaker 1: but open records requests were filed asking for bodycam footage 444 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:52,959 Speaker 1: from the forest around the time of the incident, not 445 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,840 Speaker 1: only from the State Patrol, but also from the Atlanta 446 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 1: and Decab County police departments. Two days after the police killing, 447 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,719 Speaker 1: when Atlanta PD spokesperson said that APD officers were not 448 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: in the area of the shooting and that no footage 449 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: from Wednesday's operation would be released, citing the ongoing investigation. 450 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,400 Speaker 1: And then a whole three weeks after the shooting, on 451 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: February eighth, the Atlanta Police Department released bodycam footage from 452 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 1: four officers who were in the woods at the time 453 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: of the shooting. An officer in the group estimated that 454 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,479 Speaker 1: they were just one hundred feet away I'm not going 455 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:34,480 Speaker 1: to play audio of the gunshots or any use of 456 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: police weapons, but I'll be including a few brief snippets 457 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:42,920 Speaker 1: of police chatter that I and others found relevant. Most 458 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: of the clips will only be a few seconds long, 459 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:47,080 Speaker 1: so you can skip ahead if you want. I'll give 460 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 1: you a heads up at time of recording. There are 461 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,680 Speaker 1: four videos released, and they show a self described quote 462 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:57,760 Speaker 1: unquote clearing operation being done by a single group of 463 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:02,920 Speaker 1: APD officers. Shortly after tearing apart and slicing up two 464 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,880 Speaker 1: tents with a pocket knife, suddenly four gunshots are heard 465 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,719 Speaker 1: near by, followed a second and a half later by 466 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 1: a large volume of gunfire. I estimate over thirty gun 467 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 1: shots fired by multiple weapons. No verbal commands were picked 468 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:22,360 Speaker 1: up by the microphone. Two chest mounted cameras were rolling 469 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:26,240 Speaker 1: before the shooting. Forty five seconds after the gunfire, APD 470 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,720 Speaker 1: officers were told to turn on their body cams and 471 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,880 Speaker 1: two more cameras began rolling. At that point, Officer down 472 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: started getting repeated over the radio, but initially there were 473 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: questions among officers about how much of the sounds heard 474 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: were fireworks versus gunshots. Multiple officers identified hearing suppressed gunfire, 475 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,560 Speaker 1: meaning the use of a quote unquote silencer. Here's two 476 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:53,920 Speaker 1: clips totaling around fifteen seconds. 477 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 8: As that sounded like suppressed gun fire. 478 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: Just minutes after police opened fire and killed Tortigita, an 479 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,160 Speaker 1: APD officer on the ground said this in response to 480 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:17,840 Speaker 1: the Georgia State Patrol trooper that was shot. 481 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:21,640 Speaker 9: You fucked your own officer. 482 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:26,840 Speaker 1: You fucked your own officer up, possibly said in response 483 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:32,400 Speaker 1: to other officers noting that the gunshots sounded suppressed. Confirmation 484 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 1: spread on the ground that a state trooper was shot, 485 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:40,080 Speaker 1: but never once mentioning anything about a protester firing. Police 486 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:44,160 Speaker 1: continued advancing toward a nearby tent with guns drawn and 487 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: officers yelling back and forth to check their crossfire. As 488 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 1: teams were organizing the evac of the injured trooper and 489 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 1: warning about crossfire. Police stated that they did not want 490 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 1: to cause another incident. 491 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,040 Speaker 7: You know, I'm just we just need a haul till 492 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,320 Speaker 7: we can get them out, get the assid out first. 493 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:12,160 Speaker 7: We don't want to cause another incident. 494 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:15,960 Speaker 1: At this point, there was a great deal of intentional 495 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: coordination of officer movement and a lot of effort being 496 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:22,840 Speaker 1: put into preventing police officers from being in each other's 497 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,200 Speaker 1: line of fire. This next batch of audio will be 498 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:30,280 Speaker 1: a little bit longer, about a minute. 499 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:32,760 Speaker 10: Hey, watch cause fire over there. 500 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:34,320 Speaker 6: What's calls fire? 501 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 3: We're on all the side. 502 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,440 Speaker 10: Let's say listen, listen. Let me say everyone is back here, 503 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,959 Speaker 10: so we need to shift. There's everyone is back here. 504 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:50,960 Speaker 10: So if y'all shoot from that side, there's more offices 505 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 10: over here, So we need to shift back like this side. 506 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 10: Pumping ta Hey, saw it. 507 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:58,720 Speaker 6: Saw the heel potter come this way. We want to 508 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:00,480 Speaker 6: shift this way, particle. 509 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:04,040 Speaker 10: You're right all right? 510 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:09,000 Speaker 7: Okay, cool, we're going on the other side. 511 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:10,880 Speaker 1: Got you gotta. 512 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:19,880 Speaker 11: Right there, I got you, I got you. Wait right there, 513 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 11: This is the banks of mark of our semi circle. 514 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 11: Everyone needs to stick back this way. 515 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:35,800 Speaker 10: Hey, keep coming this way. He's coming back this way. 516 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:40,200 Speaker 9: Anybody get in contact with the didn't want to Who 517 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,320 Speaker 9: is talking about here? 518 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:44,880 Speaker 6: The chandler they need who. 519 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: Police started firing off flash bangs and prepping chemical weapons 520 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:53,120 Speaker 1: as they moved further into the woods near where the 521 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 1: deadly police shooting just took place. Moments prior, police heyne 522 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:02,680 Speaker 1: or you won't be bait fuck, come up and you 523 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:06,400 Speaker 1: gotta find out from another angle, you can hear a 524 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 1: cop laugh in response to his fellow officer threatening fuck 525 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:13,480 Speaker 1: around and find out. Just minutes after police killed a protester. 526 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,920 Speaker 1: If you listen carefully, you can hear an officer muttering 527 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:26,000 Speaker 1: about how large the police presence is, saying, we've got 528 00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:28,319 Speaker 1: so many resources. We don't need to rush this shit. 529 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:31,640 Speaker 6: There's some sandwich with sam mine. Second guess, so many 530 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:33,160 Speaker 6: resources to rush this shit. 531 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,839 Speaker 1: Cops shot off quote unquote less lethal pepperballs at an 532 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:44,000 Speaker 1: unoccupied green tent and only ended up gassing themselves as 533 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:46,800 Speaker 1: they had to walk through the peppered up trees on 534 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:49,680 Speaker 1: their way to the tent. Literally, there was over a 535 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,200 Speaker 1: minute and a half of just straight coughing. When they 536 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,320 Speaker 1: arrived at the tent, officers got into a brief conversation 537 00:34:56,880 --> 00:34:59,360 Speaker 1: about the deadly shooting that just took place and the 538 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:00,799 Speaker 1: injured trooper. 539 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:03,960 Speaker 4: Didn't shoot their own there. 540 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:11,239 Speaker 9: Huh, we don't know, league shaba that non first lars 541 00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:14,880 Speaker 9: any work at first, one say, with suppressed pect no 542 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 9: party luckly round the main high one. 543 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,800 Speaker 1: Remember that just two hours after the shooting, even before 544 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:30,040 Speaker 1: the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's first press conference, the defendive forest. 545 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:32,960 Speaker 1: Twitter account said quote, we have reason to believe the 546 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:36,520 Speaker 1: officer shot today was hit by friendly fire and not 547 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:41,120 Speaker 1: by the protester who was killed unquote in an extremely 548 00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:45,360 Speaker 1: uncharacteristic move. The GBI put out a statement commenting on 549 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:49,760 Speaker 1: the evidence during their ongoing investigation, cautioning against quote unquote 550 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:54,200 Speaker 1: speculation and that quote memory and perception are fragile and 551 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:58,040 Speaker 1: the myriad of factors can influence perception and memory unquote. 552 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:02,279 Speaker 1: The morning after sure the bodycam footage went public, a 553 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:06,920 Speaker 1: statement was released by Tortiguita's family, saying, quote, the videos 554 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:10,560 Speaker 1: show the clearing of the forest was a paramilitary operation 555 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,880 Speaker 1: that set the stage for the excessive use of force 556 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:19,240 Speaker 1: and also call into question previous reporting regarding the events 557 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:23,680 Speaker 1: leading up to the police shooting unquote. Tort's own mother, 558 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,440 Speaker 1: who recently arrived in the United States on an emergency visa, 559 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:30,800 Speaker 1: said weeks ago in an interview for The Guardian, quote, 560 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 1: I will go to the US to defend Manuel's memory. 561 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,840 Speaker 1: I'm convinced that they were assassinated in cold blood, and 562 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:42,920 Speaker 1: I'm going to clear Manuel's name. They killed them like 563 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:45,920 Speaker 1: they tear down the trees in the forest, A forest 564 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:51,240 Speaker 1: manual loved with a passion unquote. There is an official 565 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:55,640 Speaker 1: GoFundMe for Tortigita, managed by and for their family, with 566 00:36:55,880 --> 00:37:00,640 Speaker 1: funds going to funeral expenses plus travel, legal cause, and 567 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,239 Speaker 1: to support the family in general during this time of 568 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,280 Speaker 1: emense grief. The fundraiser will be linked in the show notes. 569 00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:12,840 Speaker 1: This first episode has been a lot tackling many of 570 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:17,320 Speaker 1: the most gruesome aspects of the struggle thus far. Cricket 571 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:21,480 Speaker 1: talked about one way of responding to this influx of 572 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:25,240 Speaker 1: anger and grief that everyone's been experiencing since the shooting. 573 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:28,040 Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean there's just been There's been so much 574 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,160 Speaker 4: grief and so much anger, and so many people coming 575 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:32,680 Speaker 4: together and so many people trying to support one another. 576 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:37,080 Speaker 4: There's been, at least among the folks I know, a 577 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:40,120 Speaker 4: lot of trying to think through like what would Torte 578 00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:44,480 Speaker 4: do WWTD and like loving one another and supporting one 579 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:47,439 Speaker 4: another keeps being one of the first things on that list. 580 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:51,640 Speaker 1: We will hear more about Torti Guita in the next episode. 581 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:56,759 Speaker 1: Memories and stories from friends, partners, and comrades based on 582 00:37:56,920 --> 00:38:00,759 Speaker 1: conversations and moments from the vigil. But I'll leave us 583 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:05,160 Speaker 1: with the words of Tortigita quote. The abolitionist mission isn't 584 00:38:05,239 --> 00:38:07,840 Speaker 1: done until every prison is empty, when there are no 585 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:10,839 Speaker 1: more cops, when the land has been given back, that's 586 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:13,600 Speaker 1: when it's over. I don't expect to live to see 587 00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:17,520 Speaker 1: that day necessarily. I mean, I hope so, but I 588 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:23,640 Speaker 1: smoke unquote. Music for this episode by the Narcissist's cookbook 589 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:26,680 Speaker 1: and propaganda see you on the other side. 590 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:31,360 Speaker 5: Yeah, and the rain on leaves tickling the earliest the veinstruments. 591 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:33,680 Speaker 5: The melody we mimic. It is the sound of wind 592 00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:37,120 Speaker 5: whistling long before the safe begets channing under the stars, 593 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:40,360 Speaker 5: camped under for canopy, she sang all song, and she 594 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:43,640 Speaker 5: was far from silent, no virus of violence with the 595 00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:47,160 Speaker 5: fragrance of her flowers that continue to invite us of medicine. 596 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:50,600 Speaker 5: Cereals are vitamins and minerals and all that is essential, 597 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:53,560 Speaker 5: which just grew right beside us entice the starting fighting 598 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,120 Speaker 5: over the gifts that she provide us, scorching of the 599 00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:57,319 Speaker 5: soil that all the. 600 00:38:57,400 --> 00:38:58,239 Speaker 11: Us derived from. 601 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,360 Speaker 5: And when impious learning came with stand by you, we 602 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:04,440 Speaker 5: returned to the land where we're ancestors. Rain dance. 603 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:05,760 Speaker 9: We have all her creaches. 604 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:07,200 Speaker 1: We still bear her features. 605 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:10,280 Speaker 5: The one and only reason all living things is breathe, 606 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:13,839 Speaker 5: and the cities deceive and leave. Go see the jart Young, 607 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:16,719 Speaker 5: Go be among the lungs of mother Earth because. 608 00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:44,080 Speaker 6: Yeah shut him down. It was a forest. 609 00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:47,800 Speaker 1: It could happen here as a production of cool Zone Media. 610 00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:50,720 Speaker 3: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 611 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:52,960 Speaker 3: cool zonemedia dot com, or check us out on the 612 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:56,400 Speaker 3: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 613 00:39:57,040 --> 00:39:59,520 Speaker 1: You can find sources for It could Happen Here, updated monthly, 614 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:02,200 Speaker 1: coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. 615 00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:03,240 Speaker 3: Thanks for listening.