Julian Lewis Police Shooting : 5 Facts You Should Know

Julian Lewis went out to get a grape soda for his wife on August 7.

But he never came home.

Instead, the 60-year-old Black man was pursued by a Georgia state trooper on a rural road, his car ending up pinned between a tree and the trooper’s car.

Lewis died after he was shot in the head, his family’s attorney, Francys Johnson, told CNN.

Here are five facts you should know:

1. Officer Fired & Charged With For Fatally Shooting Julian Lewis

On Friday, August 14, 2020, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Georgia State Patrol Trooper Jacob Gordon Thompson for fatally shooting Julian Lewis during.

Thompson, 27, was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault.

2. Lewis was a soft-spoken, peaceful man family says

Lewis has been described as soft-spoken and peaceful. During his funeral, friends and family recalled how the skilled carpenter volunteered to do work for seniors and a local church.

His only child, Brook Bacon, remembered his father as a good man who was “too good to die as he did on Stoney Pond,” Johnson said.

What Lewis’ loved ones want to know is why he ended up dead at the hands of a trooper while running an errand.

“It is not altogether clear to us that Mr. Lewis was trying to flee,” Johnson said.

3. A broken taillight leads to police chase

Preliminary information shows that the trooper attempted to stop a Nissan Sentra for a traffic related offense on Stoney Pond Road in Screven County.

The car refused to stop and led the trooper on a brief chase down several county roads.

His attorney said it was likely that Lewis was trying to get to his uncle’s house nearby so that a witness could see the police interaction.

The pursuit took place near Sylvania in Screven County, about halfway between Savannah and Augusta in the southeastern part of the state.

The trooper said the vehicle sped up to “what appeared to be around 65 mph or more” and he turned on his lights and gave chase on a few county roads.

Heinitiated a Precision Intervention Technique (PIT) and the car came to a stop in the ditch.

The trooper claims he feared for his life which made he draw his weapon.

“Being concerned for my safety, I drew my weapon as I got out of the vehicle,” he said in the report.

Thompson said in the report that he heard Lewis’ car revving and saw him “wrenching the steering wheel in an aggressively back and forth manner towards me and my patrol vehicle.”

“It appeared to me that the violator was trying to use his vehicle to injure me,” Thompson explained.

“Being in fear for my life and safety, I discharged my weapon once. After I fired, the violator sat back motionless.”

The trooper fired one round, striking Lewis.

Lewis was pronounced deceased on scene.

Thompson was booked at the Screven County Jail and has been terminated from the Department of Public Safety, Georgia State Patrol.

4. Officer Will Not Be Charged

In the latest update to the case in June, the former trooper will not be charged.

Former Georgia State Patrol officer Jacob Thompson will not face indictment for fatally shooting 60-year-old Julian Lewis during a traffic stop last August.

On June 28, 2020 A Screven County grand jury declined to indict Thompson for killing Lewis last summer after he was pulled over for a broken tail light, Associated Press reports.

Thompson had been arrested and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in the Aug. 7 shooting.

5. Family still has not seen body cam video of Julian Lewis police shooting

Francys Johnson, an attorney for Lewis’ family said they want to see video from the shooting.

He also called on District Attorney Daphne Totten to impanel another grand jury to try again to get an indictment.

Lawyers for Lewis’ family expressed disappointment with the grand jury’s decision.

“Make no mistake about it, we believe that this was a very strong case,” Johnson said during a news conference.

“The evidence was there. It still is.”