Attorneys for the family of Devonte Dawayne Brown, the 28-year-old Black man gunned down by Cobb County Police officer Ian McConnell in August 2021, were joined by the Chair of the Georgia State NAACP Gerald Griggs and the family of another Black teenager killed Cobb County Police to call for justice and accountability as they announced a federal lawsuit against McConnell today.
Brown’s family is represented by Bernarda Villalona of Villalona Law, PLLC and Chantel Cherry-Lassiter and Crystal Carey with The Law Offices of Harry M. Daniels.
Brown’s killing sparked outrage last year when body camera video released by the attorneys showed Brown been boxed in by police with McConnell shouting to “Get your f***ing hands up!” Though Brown was trapped in the vehicle with the airbags clearly deployed, McConnell, who was in no immediate threat, fired twelve rounds into the car, striking and killing Brown. McConnell can be heard on the video after the shooting, admitting that Brown was trapped inside the car when he requested Fire and Rescue to extricate his body from the vehicle.
“The Cobb County Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office have made it very clear that they aren’t interested in seeking justice for Devonte Brown or his family,” said Villalona. “They want us to just go away. They want this family and this community to just sit down and shut up. But we’re not going away. We’re not going to let them sweep this under the rug. This family deserves justice and if the DA’s office won’t fight for it, we will.”
“Let’s be clear. It’s not just that Devonte Brown wasn’t a threat. He couldn’t have been,” said Cherry-Lassiter. “He was trapped in a car with the airbags deployed. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t see. He was defenseless. That’s why the other officers on the scene didn’t fire. But Ian McConnell did. He killed a helpless man for no reason and he shouldn’t get away with…
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