Records obtained by Guardian give details about events leading to death of Manuel Paez Terán, shot dead in 2023. Previously unavailable records obtained by the Guardian shed light on the killing of environmental and social activist Manuel Paez Terán during a police operation aimed at clearing out less than two dozen people from an Atlanta-area forest as they protested against a training center planned to be built nearby known as “Cop City”.
The incident was the first of its kind in US history, and Georgia authorities have released scant information about what happened during the police operation two-plus years ago. None of the Georgia state patrol officers involved were wearing body cams, so no video evidence of the shooting exists.
Paez Terán’s death catapulted the broad-based movement against Cop City to national headlines, then in its second year. Apart from the so-called “forest defenders” who camped in the forest, the movement has included efforts at mounting a referendum on the training center, record public participation in city council meetings, lawsuits, numerous protests and environmental and civil rights groups. Police say the center is needed for “world-class” training.
The records appear to confirm that Paez Terán fired a gun at police from inside a tent, as Georgia authorities have stated since the 18 January 2023 incident – and that six officers fired back, filling the activist’s body with 57 bullet wounds, instantly causing death.
