COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Hundreds gathered to support the family of a man shot and killed by a Smyrna police officer.
Police tried to arrest Nicholas Thomas on a probation violation.
Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri was at Smyrna City Hall Tuesday where the family asked for witnesses to come forward.
They, along with the family, want the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to head up the investigation into the 23-year-old’s death.
Huey Thomas along with hundreds of others chanted for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to handle the case of Thomas' shooting death at the hands of a Smyrna police officer.
Police say Sgt. Kenneth Owens shot and killed Thomas as he tried to escape officers trying to arrest him for a probation violation. It happened last week at the Goodyear service center in Vinings, where Thomas worked. His family spoke out angrily Tuesday night and directed their frustration at Owens, now on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by Cobb County police.
Attorney Lance Lorusso is representing Owens. He says Owens fired the shot to protect another officer from Thomas who was behind the wheel of a Maserati at the time.
On Tuesday, Channel 2's Ross Cavitt obtained exclusive dash cam video from a previous chase involving Thomas.
You can see police as they strike Thomas' car in a pit maneauver, before he exits the vehicle with his hands in the air.
Thomas' family says they want his case tried out of Cobb County.