The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - A grand jury may have exonerated a Columbus police officer in the shooting death of Kenneth Walker, but that doesn’t mean the case is closed. Activists who see Walker’s death as police brutality hope for a civil lawsuit and possible federal charges for violating Walker’s civil rights.
State criminal charges are impossible now for Muscogee County Sheriff’s Deputy David Glisson. A Columbus grand jury said Tuesday there wasn’t probably cause for a case.
But Glisson could still face a trial, possibly even a federal criminal trial, for the Dec. 10 shooting death of Walker. Then-Deputy Glisson shot Walker during a traffic stop along Interstate 185.
Walker and three friends were riding in a gray GMC Yukon seen leaving an apartment that was under surveillance by Metro Narcotics Task Force agents for drug activity.
Officers ordered the four men from the vehicle and during that time, Walker was shot twice in the head. No drugs or weapons were found in the Yukon, on Walker or on the other men.
Glisson was fired in February. The grand jury considered indictments on felony murder or involuntary manslaughter, but after reviewing the case and a videotape of the incident decided not to indict Glisson.
The officer now could face federal charges for violating Walker’s civil rights, said Emory University law professor Richard D. Freer. Thousands of these cases are filed each year, he said.
“It’s been a very good tool for vindication for civil rights,” Freer told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. “It’s a very important section and is widely used.”
FBI Special Agent Steve Lazarus told the newspaper a federal probe is being done but didn’t elaborate on when it might conclude.
A community activist critical of Glisson, Reginald Pugh of the Metro Columbus Urban League, said a federal case would be welcomed.
“This case needs to be in front of a jury,” Pugh said.
While a federal investigation continues, lawsuit are popping up in the case. Walker’s family is suing Glisson, and Glisson is suing the sheriff’s department for wrongful termination.
A lawyer for the Walker family, Willie Gary, said there will be a civil suit filed in State Court within the next 10 days against Glisson.
Glisson’s attorney, Richard Hagler, has said there will be a wrongful termination suit involving the city. Glisson, a member of the department for 20 years, was fired in February by Sheriff Ralph Johnson, who said the deputy had failed to cooperate in the Walker investigation.