ATLANTA — An Atlanta police officer has been indicted on a murder charge in the 2019 shooting of a teenager who stole his unmarked car at a gas station.
Oliver Simmonds, who was assigned to former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ security detail, is accused of fatally shooting 18-year-old D’Ettrick Griffin following the “slider” theft at a Shell station in southwest Atlanta.
A Fulton County grand jury indicted him Friday on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault and two counts of violating his oath, court records show. Simmonds is the latest police officer to be criminally charged as District Attorney Fani Willis works through a backlog of use-of-force cases.
Simmonds was off-duty and not wearing his uniform when he stopped to fill up the evening of Jan. 15, 2019, authorities said. Griffin jumped into Simmonds’ driver’s seat while he was pumping gas near the intersection of Whitehall and McDaniel streets, a form of theft commonly referred to as a slider crime. It’s unclear if he knew he was taking a police car.
The teen began to drive off, and the officer tried to stop him, the GBI said at the time. At some point, Simmonds fired multiple shots at Griffin, investigators said. The car traveled a short distance before crashing into two parked vehicles. Griffin, who was unarmed, was found dead inside.
Simmonds, who joined the police department in April 2010, suffered a minor injury to his foot after allegedly being run over during the encounter, authorities said. The teen’s fatal shooting reignited a debate over when, or even if, officers should fire at fleeing vehicles.
Atlanta Police Department policy prohibits officers from firing their weapons to stop a fleeing vehicle but carves out a broad exception that allows a “reasonable and necessary” use of force.
Griffin’s family, which has long argued that Simmonds used excessive force that evening, was overjoyed Friday when the indictment was handed down.
“Oh, this is what I prayed for,” his mother, Gaysha Glover, told Channel 2 Action News.
But Simmonds’ attorney Jackie Patterson said his client was forced to defend himself that night and that he looks forward to clearing his name in court.
“We are disappointed in the grand jury’s decision, but fortunately a grand jury’s decision to indict someone is not evidence of anyone’s guilt,” Patterson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday. “This entire incident occurred as a result of my client’s decision to defend himself. He had no choice but to fire upon this young man to save his own life. He would have been killed or seriously injured otherwise.”
Following the shooting, Simmonds was assigned to an administrative role, where he remained until Friday’s indictment, APD said in a statement. Upon learning of his murder charge, department officials suspended him without pay. An emergency hearing is being scheduled to determine the officer’s fate with the agency.
Patterson said he is working with the district attorney’s office to arrange for his client to turn himself in at the Fulton County jail. That’s expected to happen in the next few days.
———
