A white former Georgia cop was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and voluntary manslaughter after fatally shooting an unarmed Black man eight times. 

Though acquitted of manslaughter charges, a jury did find Zechariah Presley guilty of the violation of his oath of office in the death of 33-year-old Tony Green on June 20, 2018, in coastal Camden County. He faces a prison sentence of one to five years. 

Green’s family and loved ones were disappointed in the verdict. 

“My son was murdered and the man that murdered my son gets to go home to his sons, and can only possibly serve one to five [years] for murder,” Green’s father, Wayne Anderson said. “This oughta serve notice to a lot of our young black men — and black men, period — that you can run up and down the football field, you can run up and down the courts. You can hit baseballs, but at the end of the day when they see you, they see a black man.”

Green’s Pastor, Mack De’Von Knight, expressed his dissatisfaction with the outcome outside the courthouse. 

“He admitted that he killed Tony Green in cold blood," Knight said. "To me, it's hunting season for the young black man and we're being gunned down in the streets and there's no repercussions, there's no consequences for these officers."

Presley said he followed Green’s car the night of the encounter because he believed Green was driving with a suspended license. Dashcam footage shows Green driving off the road, opening the door and running. He then returns to his car, grabs an unidentified object and takes off once again. 

The former officer then chased Green. Presley was wearing a body cam, but because of the darkness and something obstructing the camera, the encounter can’t be seen. There was a struggle between the two before the camera picks up the electric sound of a taser and then eight gunshots. His bodycam footage recorded him later recounting to another officer what had happened. 

“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.”

During the trial, Presley said Green reached for his duty belt and that he feared for his life. He also said he fired his gun after Green turned to face him and extended his arm, fearing he had a gun, which he had not mentioned previously. Investigators determined the object was in fact a cellphone. 

In her closing argument, defense attorney Adrienne Browning said Green was not shot because of misdemeanor offenses but because of his decisions. 

"He was shot because of bad decision after bad decision, until the threat was overwhelming and Zech feared for his life," she said. 

Prosecutor Rocky Bridges said in his closing argument that Green made a fatal mistake that ultimately cost him his life. 

“He ran from the police, not a good decision. But he was not armed. He did not turn on officer Presley. He did not deserve to die,” he said. 

An autopsy reveals Green was shot once to his chest and few times to his back and hips. He also had small amounts of marijuana, alcohol, cocaine and tranquilizer in his system. 

The verdict sparked protests by Green’s family and friends. The group chanted and held signs on Highway 40.