KINGSLAND, Ga. – Dashcam and body camera videos were shown in court Tuesday at a hearing on a motion by a former Kingsland police officer who is asking that charges against him for killing an unarmed man last year be thrown out.
With his trial on a charge of voluntary manslaughter approaching, Zechariah Presley's attorneys filed a motion for immunity from prosecution. Presley claims he was defending himself when he shot and killed 33-year-old Tony Green after a traffic stop last summer.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation report said the two men had a brief struggle before Presley shot Green multiple times as he tried to run away. Green would die lying on the ground that night.
A Camden County grand jury found Presley violated his oath of office and indicted him. Presley was fired by the Kingsland Police Department shortly after the shooting.
Presley's defense team played the videos in court Tuesday as they argued that Presley was justified in shooting Green, but the video also sparked outrage and weeping from Green's family and friends. It was the first time the video had been made public.
Presley can be seen following Green's car at speeds up to 72 mph, then Green and another man run from his car. It's difficult to see when Presley catches up to Green.
You can hear Presley's Taser being used for 10 seconds, then eight gunshots ring out.
Presley can be heard telling another officer: "I got tased by my own Taser and I had him behind his neck and he rolled me over he was on top of me and I started reaching for my gun then he took off, and that's when I fired."
Watching the video in court for the first time, Green's family and friends were shocked.
"To watch what we have been hearing took place, and to now finally see it take place and unfold -- it was too much. It was very overwhelming to watch Tony Green's life taken in such an instant," the family's pastor, Mack Knight, said.
"It was emotional, but I stayed strong and I will continue to stay strong," said Marcea Roche, Green's sister.
Presley is set to stand trial next week unless Judge Stephen Scarlett agrees with Green's motion of immunity. Scarlett is expected to rule later this week.
"Looking forward to Monday if he doesn't grant our motion," Presley's attorney, Alan Tucker, said.
