Atlanta police officer who fatally shot community activist, Oscar Cain Jr., did not have his body camera turned on.
What We Know:
- Cain was fatally shot by Atlanta police officer, Marquee Kelley, on March 31, 2019, in Southwest Atlanta.
- Kelley began chasing Cain after receiving a report of a possibly armed person in the area. Deputy Chief Jeff Glazier, of the Atlanta Police Department, stated, “At some point during the foot chase, the suspect produced a handgun, our officer fired, hit the suspect, and killed the suspect.”
- There is no audio or video recording of the incident because Kelley failed to turn on his body camera before the encounter with Cain. A 2018 audit of the Atlanta police department found that out of 150 random samples more than half the cases included officers failing to activate & deactivate the cameras at the appropriate times.
- Oscar Cain was well-known in the Atlanta community for his activism pertaining to education reform, racial justice and voting rights. He was also an advocate for the use of body cameras by law enforcement.
- “It’s really sad that someone who organized and fought for police accountability and body cameras ends up dead at the hands of law enforcement and there are no body cameras,” stated family attorney Mawuli Davis. “It’s tragically ironic.”
- After the incident Kelley was placed on a three-day leave, standard after an officer fires a weapon, and is currently on administrative duty pending further investigation of the shooting.
As is standard in officer-involved shootings the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident.
