We applaud Boston’s recusal decision

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston recently announced her decision to recuse herself and her office from the case involving the shooting death of forest defender Manuel Teran that occurred Jan. 18 at the site of a proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office is part of a multi-jurisdictional task force investigating, and potentially prosecuting, individuals and organizations that are protesting the construction of the training facility and illegally occupying sections of a forest surrounding the build site.

According to police reports, Teran was inside a tent that was set up on the property and had been given several verbal commands to come out. Rather than coming out of the tent, Teran responded with gunfire and struck a Georgia State Patrol trooper. Officers then returned fire; Teran was pronounced dead at the scene and the trooper was transported to a local hospital.

Boston said even though there is no legal conflict, she and her office want to avoid any “appearance of impropriety” and has requested that an independent prosecuting agency be appointed to continue the investigation and possible prosecution of the shooting incident.

We fully support Boston’s decision to proactively avoid any potential conflict of interest accusations and agree with her statement, “The overarching reasoning for my recusal is that it is simply the right thing to do.”