Recent developments have emerged in the aftermath of a controversial police shooting from back in 2019, as the Atlanta City Council confirmed on Monday a settlement amounting to $1.4 million to the family of D'ettrick Griffin, an 18-year-old fatally shot during an altercation involving an off-duty officer. The unanimous decision came after a long legal battle that included a trial ending in the officer's acquittal.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta's report, Oliver Simmonds, the officer involved and a member of former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’s Executive Protection Unit, was charged with multiple counts in 2022, including felony murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Following the encounter at a Shell gas station, where Griffin was alleged to have been trying to steal Simmonds' unmarked police SUV, Simmonds, who was off-duty and dressed in plain clothes at the time, fired at Griffin. The teen drove away and subsequently crashed.
Despite the severity of the charges, Simmonds walked free after a trial in September 2023 that concluded with a jury deliberation lasting just four hours, as they returned a "not guilty" verdict. The settlement was reached as the city attorney recommended a resolution to avoid further financial risks associated with continuing the defense in this case, citing an "extensive review of the facts and the law."
"Even though my son did wrong, it was not left up to him (the officer) to execute my son," Gaysha Glover, Griffin's mother, maintained in an interview obtained by 11Alive back in 2019. This sentiment underscores a culminating frustration with the use of force applied in certain police interactions, and it echoes through several other settlements Atlanta has paid in recent years over police use of force.
Oliver Simmonds, the now-former officer, transitioned through multiple phases of assignment within the Atlanta Police Department – first to a non-enforcement role, then relieved from his administrative role upon indictment, before finally opting for retirement. As a part of the city's continuing response to controversial use-of-force incidents, Monday's City Council meeting included the settlement approval, which was a portion of an ongoing reckoning visible just after 4:04:00 in the session’s video recording.
