ATLANTA — After a lengthy investigation, officials have determined that no crime was committed in the 2017 case where a Georgia Tech student was shot and killed by a campus police officer.
The family of Scout Schultz said the 21-year-old was killed during what they say was a mental-health crisis.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard described the shooting as a tragedy.
"The death of Scout Schultz is a tragedy of major dimension.Though, it is difficult to make exact psychological conclusions in such matters, all of the available evidence indicates Schultz decided to take his own life by provoking police officers to shoot him," he said in a statement.
Authorities said Schultz called 911 to report a suspicious person on campus.
The call described a "white male, with long blonde hair, white t-shirt & blue jeans who is possibly intoxicated, holding a knife and possibly armed with a gun on his hip." Police then responded to the scene.
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"When they responded, Schultz held a knife menacingly in his right hand. Based upon the clothing he was wearing at the time, it was also highly possible he had a gun," the statement reads."The person who Schultz described on the call turned out to be Schultz himself."
Official said officers repeatedly told the student to drop the knife.
"Schultz ignored their commands and urged the officers to shoot him. Moments before he was shot, Schultz continued to ignore the commands and charged towards the officer who fired the fatal shot.," Howard added.
He said his office was involved in detailed investigation, which included the the work of two use of force experts.He said the experts and investigators from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office Public Integrity Unit concluded that the shooting was justified.
"We spoke to the Schultz family and their attorney Christopher Stewart, and while this was an unfortunate situation, it is our conclusion no crime was committed," Howard said.
"This case should cause police departments to require officers to receive additional training related to the arrest of citizens with psychological issues, he said. "Additionally, this incident should encourage departments to purchase equipment such as bean bags, tasers, and other non-lethal weapons."
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