Cobb County

Family of teen shot, killed by Cobb County police want DA to reopen case

By Michele Newell
By Michele Newell

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a teenager shot and killed by a Cobb County police officer wants the district attorney to reopen the case.

Vincent Truitt was shot twice in the back along Riverside Parkway following a police chase in 2020.

Truitt’s family and their attorney have asked the community to make nonstop calls to the DA’s office to honor what would have been Vincent’s 20th birthday.

His parents told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that they hold onto every single memory of their son.

“He used to come touch my feet every morning before he went to school to let me know he was leaving,” Truitt’s mother, Venethia Cook, said.

Truitt would have turned 20 years old on Thursday.

“My baby did not deserve to be shot in his back twice,” Cook said.

“He shot him down like he was a dog,” Father Andrae Truitt said.

Truitt was shot and killed one day before his mother’s birthday.

“He never had a chance to tell me happy birthday,” Cook said.

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Investigators say Truitt was in a stolen car that led police on a chase. Body camera video shows what quickly happened afterward.

“He was the passenger in the car. He gets out of the car. He tries to run. He’s shot in his back,” family attorney Gerald Griggs said.

“He didn’t deserve that. He was such a sweet person. Yeah, we all make mistakes. He was only a teenager,” Cook said.

Investigators say Truitt had a gun and posed a threat to officers. His family said he was holding two cell phones.

“Whatever the contention is that gun, or cellphone, or whatever, it never points directly at police,” Griggs said.

Truitt’s family wants Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady to re-open the case.

“He needs to present this to a criminal grand jury. Let the people of Cobb County make the determination. Not a civil grand jury, not a special purpose grand jury,” Griggs said.

Newell took their concerns Broady. He said his team followed standard procedure and sent Newell a statement that said:

“We followed a standard procedure. We sent everything to the grand jury when it comes to an officer-involved shooting. The grand jury makes the decision whether we need to seek further action in this case. I have no reason to reopen it because we sent it to a grand jury. The grand jury looked at the case, saw that the action of the officer was reasonable and did not request further action toward the officer. If they determine the officers’ actions were not reasonable, then we will send it to another grand jury with charges attached for them to decide whether he’s going to be indicted or not. In this case they didn’t find that further actions were needed.”

Truitt’s parents want the Cobb County Police Department to fire the officer that shot their son.

The department also sent Newell a statement, saying:

“The Cobb County Police Department recognizes that the loss of any and all life is tragic. We also understand that this remains a painful time for the family. As with all officer-involved shootings within our department, this investigation was turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on the night of the incident. The process of handing over the investigation of our officer-involved shootings to an outside, independent agency is born of the public’s desire for transparent, unbiased, and objective investigations of any use of deadly force by our officers. We maintain our commitment to the public we serve, and we rely on the thorough and competent investigations of the GBI as well as the handling of the subsequent information provided to the Cobb County District Attorney.”

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‘It’s time for justice.’ Attorneys, family talk about $150M lawsuit in death of Vincent Truitt A Cobb County police officer shot Vincent Truitt, 17, in the back during a chase in July 2020.

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