The parents of an 8-year-old girl who was fatally shot near the area where police killed Rayshard Brooks sued a host of city leaders in Atlanta for negligence.
Secoriea Turner was killed July 4, 2020, while she sat in a car near the Wendy’s restaurant where Brooks was shot to death June 12. The 27-year-old’s death sparked riots, protests, and looting episodes that saw demonstrators torch the burger chain and occupy the area around the rubble.
Her parents, Charmaine Turner and Secoriey Williamson, sued Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant, City Councilmember Joyce Sheperd, Wendy’s, and the company that operates the land where the restaurant once stood.
Officials failed to remove armed criminals who stood at the site for weeks on end, her parents alleged.
“Secoriea should be here. None of what we’re doing will ever bring our baby back. Her life is priceless,” Turner said during a press conference Monday. “We deserve justice. Someone needs to be held accountable.”
Vigilantes patrolled the area, set up makeshift barricades, and directed traffic. Secoriea was shot dead after Julian Conley, 20, allegedly opened fire while he stood alongside several members of an armed group.
In July, Conley’s attorney maintained his innocence and suggested his arrest was retaliation from law enforcement.
On July 14, the remains of the Wendy’s were dismantled and the city cleared out the area of vigilantes. Attorneys for Secoriea’s parents claimed the city allowed the site to persist despite rampant crime in the area and forbade law enforcement from protecting the public.
“The mayor, the city council and the police department are specifically making the decision not to have law enforcement at a certain location,” said lawyer Shean Williams.
A spokesperson for the city of Atlanta called the shooting a “tragedy” but did not comment further on pending litigation. The Atlanta Police Department refused to comment on the lawsuit.
“The murder of Secoriea Turner, as a result of senseless gun violence, is a tragedy that no family should have to endure,” the city told the Washington Examiner in an email. “Due to the anticipated litigation, the City will offer no further comment, at this time.”
Williamson in the days after the shooting of his daughter went viral after he lambasted Black Lives Matter for the killing.
“They say black lives matter,” he said. “You killed your own. You killed your own this time. … They killed my baby because she crossed the barrier and made a U-turn. You killed a child. She didn’t do nothing to nobody.”
Brooks was seen on video running from officers, engaging in a tussle on the ground, and grabbing an officer’s Taser before he was shot multiple times. Officer Garret Rolfe has since been charged with felony murder in connection to the incident.
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Rolfe was reinstated by the city’s Civil Service Board in May “due to the City’s failure to comply with several provisions of the Code and the information received during witnesses’ testimony.” Rolfe has not been cleared to return to work.
“He’d essentially be on administrative leave pending the outcome of the charges against them,” said Lance LoRusso, his attorney.
Wendy’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
