The fatal shooting of Julian Lewis, a 60-year-old Black man, by a Georgia State Trooper, after a low-speed pursuit over a broken taillight, continues to raise serious questions about the use of force and the subsequent avoidance of charges against the trooper involved. The pursuit, which started on a rural highway and ended on a darkened dirt road, culminated in Trooper Jake Thompson firing a shot that struck Lewis in the forehead just 1.6 seconds after Thompson's cruiser came to a stop, as revealed by a video obtained by journalists Louise Story and Ebony Reed for their book "Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap" and shared with WABE.
Thompson's explanation that Lewis was revving his engine and seemed to pose a threat was contradicted by an inspection of Lewis’ vehicle. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation found that the crash had disconnected a vehicle’s battery, making it immobile. Despite Thompson being fired and initially charged with murder, and spending over 100 days in jail, he was released without a trial after a state grand jury declined to indict him in 2021.
Experts consulted by WABE have challenged the justification of the shooting and the actions leading up to it. "This goes beyond a stupid mistake," commented Charles "Joe" Key, a use-of-force expert, expressing skepticism towards Thompson's claim that he fired because of the revving engine, dismissing it as "total garbage". Georgia's non-requirement for troopers to wear body cameras left the dashcam footage as the sole video evidence of the incident.
The lack of prosecution has caused consternation and distress to Lewis' family. "It’s inadequate," Lewis' son, Brook Bacon, said in reference to the non-progression agreement that permanently bars Thompson from law enforcement. The state of Georgia, however, did agree to a $4.8 million settlement with Lewis' family in 2022, though no admission of wrongdoing was made as part of the settlement. Beyond the legal ramifications, the circumstances of Lewis’ death cast a shadow over the broader conversation about race and justice in America, with the memory of similar incidents remaining a persistent concern for communities across the country.
As the story unfolds and debates continue, Bacon fears that his father's case will fade from public memory, overshadowed by the sheer volume of cases involving police violence. "It’s hard for anybody to even reach back that far, especially if they didn’t hear about it initially," he told WABE. "But these issues haven’t gone away."
