Manuel Paez Terán’s family say incident reports reveal that Georgia officials ‘planned and led the operation’ that resulted in the activist’s death
The death of Paez Terán – the first time an environmental protester has been killed by police in US history – created headlines around the US and the world and further galvanised a protest movement against the huge project amid accusations of heavy-handed police action and some local Georgia politicians eager to depict activists as “terrorists”.
The incident reports reveal that officers were first to discharge a weapon – they fired a pepperball gun into Paez Terán’s tent, which was followed by gunshots they believed were coming from inside the tent, leading officers to fire a barrage of shots blindly into the tent, killing Paez Terán inside. It also reveals that, while they rendered medical assistance to an injured officer, they did not immediately do the same for Paez Terán.
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There are nine mentions of the phrase “domestic terrorist” or “domestic terrorists” used by officers in the 20-page police incident report, which Paez Terán’s family said showed the attitude they took towards anyone they encountered in the forest during an operation that resulted in the death of the activist, who went by “Tortuguita” and used they/them pronouns.
