Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/News
NewsRace

Georgia Trooper Who Chased 60-Year-Old Black Driver Into Ditch Before Shooting Him Dead In Car Is Charged with Felony Murder a Week Later

Posted byBy Niara Savage | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Jacob Thompson, the 27-year-old former Georgia Trooper who shot and killed 60-year-old Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis during an attempted traffic stop in southeastern Georgia earlier this month, has been fired and arrested.

“The Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) terminated Jacob G. Thompson today, Aug. 14, 2020, due to his “negligence or inefficiency in performing assigned duties; or commission of a felony,” reads a statement released by the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

Jacob Thompson. (Photo: Screven County Sheriff’s Office)

On Aug. 7, Thompson attempted to stop a Nissan Sentra for a traffic violation in Screven County, Georgia. When the driver refused to stop, Thompson performed a maneuver that forced the vehicle off the road and into a nearby ditch. The former trooper then got out of the patrol car and fired a single shot at Lewis, striking and killing him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Civil rights attorney Francys Johnson said Lewis was shot in the face while he was still in the vehicle. Johnson also said the traffic violation was a minor offense like “a burned out taillight.”

Thompson has been arrested and faces charges of felony murder and aggravated assault. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating the incident.

During a virtual meeting on Thursday, three civil rights attorneys, including Georgia NAACP President James Woodall, called for the FBI to become involved in the case.

Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis. (Photo: Francys Johnson.com)

Lewis’ service is scheduled for Aug. 15, and he leaves behind a wife, son, and two grandchildren.

“I am hurting. I am in pain over the taking of the life of an innocent man. It doesn’t make sense. I miss my husband. I love my husband. The crying, the loneliness just won’t stop. It’s so wrong,” his late wife said at the meeting.

This is the 56th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been called on to investigate this year.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top