For a whole year, the family of a 20-year-old Black man awaited the prosecution of the Georgia cop who fatally shot him. The officer finally learned his fate… and it ain’t prison time.
The plea hearing Tuesday stemmed from an incident in October 2023. Woodstock Police Officer Grant Shaw and two other cops pulled Millard over to conduct a traffic stop for failing to maintain his lane. Per the body camera footage, Millard sped off from the stop, triggering a short speed chase until officers cornered him on Old Mountain Road in Cobb County. The footage shows Shaw immediately drawing his gun toward Millard as soon as he exited the car.
Shaw is reported to have shot Millard within seconds of the encounter. Millard’s family said in a GoFundMe post that he suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
Attorney Andrew Lampros argued the dash camera footage showed Millard trying to comply with the officers commands before shots were fired, per FOX 5 Atlanta. Through the rear window, Millard’s hands appear to be raised when approached by the officers, per the video.
“Mr. Shaw got out of his car and he pointed his gun at Mr. Millard and I’m going to paraphrase that he told him that if he didn’t get out of the car, he was gonna kill him. Mr. Millard was trying to comply with those directives and Mr. Shaw did just that. He shot him and killed him,” Lampros said.
Millard’s family filed a civil suit, which was settled privately between both parties, Lampros told FOX 5 Atlanta. Shaw still faced a criminal charge of involuntary manslaughter and pleaded guilty. Prosecutors recommended ten years with two served behind bars.
However, a Cobb County judge ruled Tuesday that Shaw would not serve any prison time but instead, 500 hours of community service. After a long time of waiting for justice, this is the closest Millard’s family will get to it.
“My family is struggling to come to terms with this profound loss, and the lack of transparency surrounding Emmanuel’s tragic death only adds to our pain. The police department is wrong, yet they have provided us with no information, no closure, and no justice,” Millard’s family said previously in a statement.