Overview
- A federal court threw out the civil-rights and wrongful-death case brought by Manuel Paez Terán’s parents, finding the troopers’ use of lethal force was objectively reasonable.
- The judge wrote that Paez Terán fired from inside a tent and wounded a Georgia state trooper, which made the troopers’ return fire lawful.
- The court also found troopers were permitted to fire pepper balls at the tent because they believed Paez Terán was trespassing and would not leave.
- The officers were granted qualified immunity, and the judge refused the parents’ bid to amend their complaint.
- The parents’ lawyers said they are devastated and will review legal options as an earlier decision not to charge the troopers and unreleased investigative records continue to draw dispute.