South Fulton Today

Family members of a 17-year-old shot and killed by Cobb County police have filed a $150 million lawsuit against the county.

Vincent Truitt was shot in the back by the police in July 2020, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. Truitt and two other teenagers were in a stolen car, and following a pursuit by the authorities, Truitt was shot by officer Max Karneol while trying to escape capture, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said.

"My pain starts from the time I open my eyes. I visit his gravesite every day of my life. Officer Max took my gift away," Vincent's mother Venethia Cook told Fox 5 Atlanta.

The GBI said that Truitt was holding a handgun, which led them to the decision that Karneol was justified in shooting the teenager because he was armed.

"You can clearly see, in this area, the weapon that he's holding that was recovered just on the ground at the end of the video," Assistant District Attorney Jason Saliba said at a press conference in 2021.

Attorneys for the teen's family said Truitt did not pose a danger to any law enforcement because he was running away from them, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

"When a black American, a black person, has a firearm it does not give law enforcement a blank slate to respond, to shoot and kill as they see fit," Attorney Maria O. Banjo said during a press conference.

A grand jury has found the officer was authorized to use deadly force, leading to the Cobb County district attorney's decision not to pursue any charges, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Truitt family attorneys have taken exception with how the case was handled, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. They felt the case should have been brought to a criminal grand jury, rather than a civil one.