An autopsy revealed that an off-duty Georgia police officer shot a rapper 17 times in the back following an altercation outside a bar.
The incident occurred just after 11:30 p.m. on October 12 outside Atlanta’s 5 Paces Inn. According to Atlanta police, Officer Gerald Walker was working extra duty at the pub when he received a complaint about a “disruptive person.”
Walker observed the man, later identified as 44-year-old Linton “B-Green” Blackwell, attempting to re-enter the bar through a rear entrance. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation stated that Blackwell began walking away from Walker and into a parking lot. The cop witnessed Blackwell get into a car “before putting an item in the small of his back.” Walker gave Blackwell “commands in reference to a gun” before firing, striking him.
Blackwell was pronounced deceased by paramedics on the site. Cops recovered a weapon.
However, Blackwell’s friends and family are wondering whether the shooting was justified. According to local NBC station WXIA, an autopsy revealed that Blackwell had been hit 17 times in the back.
“I just couldn’t believe it was 17 times in the back,” Blackwell’s friend and manager, Timothy Coleman, told the television station. “There’s not one shot in the front.”
Coleman said he doesn’t think the shooting was justifiable.
“If he wasn’t pointing a gun at you or doing anything, what’s the point of shooting him in the back 17 times?” he asked in an interview with WXIA. “That means he was not facing you. “He was not a threat.”
Walker should be charged with a felony, said Coleman.
“I want him locked up,” Coleman insisted. “Gerald Walker needs to be behind bars.”
The GBI is the primary agency investigating the matter. Once the investigation is completed, the findings will be turned over to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for consideration. Prosecutors will decide whether the officer was justified in shooting Blackwell or should face criminal prosecution. The investigation is underway.
