Gunshot residue found on slain ‘Cop City’ protester accused of firing on police

There are new details in the death of a protester outside of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center dubbed “Cop City” by those against its construction. On April 21, the state’s autopsy was released and found no gun powder residue on Manuel Esteban Paez Terán’s body. It conflicted with reports that he fired a gun at police before law enforcement shot back and killed Terán.

Now, new findings from the Georgia bureau of Investigation (GBI) say there was gunshot residue found and there were high levels of it on Terán’s hands.

The federal agency used a scanning electron microscope and X-ray analysis to better test samples.

Two forensic consultants said this proves Terán did fire a gun before being shot and killed.

“The GBI stops at five particles. That’s the threshold. It’s a significant amount of gunshot residue. To me, that means Paez Terán fired the gun,” said Chris Robinson, who previously served as a firearms expert for GBI and led the Atlanta Police Crime Lab.

“I have no doubt that Paez Terán fired a shot. With Terán being inside a tent, the only way Terán could have got residue on his hands from another gun was if the person was inside the tent shooting,” said Jay Jarvis, who worked for three decades in the Georgia State Crime Lab.  

The forensic evidence is crucial in the case after conflicting reports had the community questioning the circumstances around the protester’s death. 

Police are already being scrutinized over the expansion of its department with the addition of the training facility at the center of the Cop City controversy.

Despite protests that have sometimes turned violent, and much community unrest over the police academy, construction is still on schedule to begin in August 2023 and finish December 2024, according to the developer.