Bill Shultz, the father of Scout Schultz, a transgender student who was fatally shot by a Georgia Tech campus cop, says the family is suing the university for the death of Scout.
Georgia Tech campus police officer Tyler Beck responded to Schultz’s 911 call in September 2017 reporting a man armed with a knife, and possibly a gun, on the west side of campus and was waiting when police arrived.
Schultz, who appeared to be having a mental breakdown, was then killed by officer Beck.
Video taken by a bystander shows Schultz refusing orders to drop a tool, which included a knife blade on it, and daring officers to shoot.
The knife blade was folded during his interaction with four other officers before Beck, standing about 20 feet away, shoots a bullet into Schultz’s chest.
Chris Stewart, a lawyer for Shultz’s parents, says Beck overreacted by shooting and that he never received crisis intervention training before being placed on the job in 2016.
Despite his lack of training, Beck’s supervisor noted he was doing “very well” even though he was “young and is still learning laws, policies and criminal procedurals, according to a performance review obtained by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Beck was placed on paid leave after the September 16 shooting.
Unlike most shooting that involve multiple officers, Beck was the only one to shoot during the Scout Schultz incident.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard will determine whether or not criminal charges will be filed against officer Beck.
Beck has been placed on administrative leave since the shooting last year.
Georgia Tech has since implemented initiatives to improve mental health services to its students and officer use-of-force training, according to WRLB.
