Grand jury: Officer used unauthorized force in deadly shooting of teen

EUHARLEE, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has learned that a grand jury has found that a Euharlee police officer was not authorized to shoot a 17-year-old while responding to a call in February.

Authorities say Cpl. Beth Gatny fatally shot Christopher Roupe, saying Roupe was pointing a gun at her on Feb. 14 when Gatny knocked on the door of the Roupe home to serve a probation warrant to the teen's father.  
 
Roupe's attorney said family members told him the teen was holding a Nintendo Wii controller.
 
Tuesday the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office said a grand jury heard testimony in the case over the course of two days and found that the use of force by Gatny was not authorized.

"As for me myself, yeah I am very happy with (the jury's recommendation)," the victim's father, Joseph Roupe told Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri.

Joseph Roupe believes he'll get justice for his son.

"I was praying there was going to be justice", Roupe said, "Now I know for a fact my son's up there smiling knowing he may have saved someone else's life."

The grand jury also recommended that the DA’s office take further action in the case.

Channel 2 Action News pulled Gatny's police officer standards and training paperwork and found she voluntarily resigned from the Bartow County Sheriff's Office, but it says she was terminated by the Acworth Police Department after 10 years on the force.

According to a letter from the Acworth Police Department, Gatny was terminated due to exhausting her Family and Medical Leave entitlement. 

It also showed she didn't work for a year before getting hired in June by the Euharlee Police Department. Since 1999, Gatny has had more than 28 hours of training just on the use of deadly force.

WSBTV