Ex-APD Officer Oliver Simmonds murder trial begins
In brief:
- Ex-Atlanta officer Oliver Simmonds is on trial for fatally shooting D’Ettrick Griffin in 2019.
- Simmonds declined a plea deal and faces charges including felony murder and aggravated assault.
- During the 2019 incident, Simmonds claimed self-defense against an apparent carjacking.
- Officer Pitts’s testimony indicated Simmonds thought Griffin’s passenger had a gun.
ATLANTA – The murder trial of an Atlanta police officer charged in the deadly shooting of an alleged carjacking suspect in 2019 began on Wednesday. Prosecutors from Fulton County allege that Officer Oliver Simmonds, who was off-duty at the time, shot and killed 18-year-old D’Ettrick Griffin, who was pumping gas at a Shell station near the intersection of McDaniel and Whitehall streets on July 15, 2019.
Simmonds claims that Griffin, along with another individual, entered his vehicle and attempted to drive off, prompting the officer to open fire. The incident ended with Griffin crashing into two other vehicles nearby.…