Newnan Officer-Involved Shooting Evidence Released by District Attorney
NEWNAN, Georgia – The Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office on Friday released a timeline, body camera frames, autopsy photos and Instagram records in the Newnan officer-involved shooting that killed Zadarious Dorsey on October 3.
District Attorney John Herbert Cranford Jr. said the autopsy report is still in progress at the GBI Crime Lab. The Medical Examiner’s Office has already given his office the autopsy photographs and told prosecutors Dorsey sustained six gunshot wounds.
Body camera video still being prepared
Cranford’s office has hired a professional videographer to prepare a version of the officer’s body-worn camera video that does not show Dorsey suffering. Dorsey’s family requested that change. The version will keep the audio from the full recording, which runs about 43 minutes.
Prosecutors have not set a release date for the video. In the meantime, the office released frame-by-frame still images covering the six seconds before and including the first shot. The camera recorded 30 frames per second, so 180 frames cover those six seconds.
The office’s presentation runs 211 slides. It includes the 180 unedited frames, numbered in chronological order from 1:13:41 a.m. through the end of 1:13:46 a.m. Some frames are duplicated with highlights and labels.
In its earlier statement on the fatal shooting, the office said it planned to release the evidence after the autopsy was finished:
“It is the intention of the DA to release the evidence shown to the family, as well as the DA’s presentation and timeline, after the GBI Medical Examiner has completed his Autopsy Report, which the DA’s Office expects to receive within the month.”
Timeline of the shooting
The DA’s Office built the timeline from the available evidence. It shows:
- 1:10:44 a.m.: The vehicle Dorsey occupied pulls into Cliff Circle. The officer pulls in at 1:11:00 a.m.
- 1:12:54 a.m.: The officer tells Dorsey to “stop.” Dorsey runs, and the officer chases him on foot.
- 1:13:10 a.m.: The officer turns on his body camera. At 1:13:30 he says, “stop Dae Dae,” and at 1:13:40 he uses his taser.
- 1:13:45 a.m.: The officer says, “drop the gun, drop the gun.”
- 1:13:46 a.m.: The officer fires his weapon six times.
- 1:14:18 a.m.: The officer radios for emergency medical services.
What the frames show
The District Attorney’s Office said frames 18 through 42 show the red laser from the taser. Frame 122 is one of the clearer images of Dorsey running. Frames 103 and 105 show an object in his right hand that is consistent with the image of a firearm, according to the office.
Frames 123 through 130 show the officer pointing his firearm at Dorsey. Frame 164 shows the muzzle flash of the first shot. In frame 163, Dorsey appears to turn his right shoulder back toward the officer, but the office said it is unclear whether he has anything in his right hand.
Instagram records and the gun
On October 28, the DA’s Office obtained records from Meta Platforms, Inc. tied to Dorsey’s Instagram account. Investigators were looking for evidence about the gun found 42 feet from his body.
The records include a photo of four firearms sent to Dorsey’s account on September 26, about a week before the shooting. One of the guns distinctly matches the firearm recovered at the scene, where Dorsey’s DNA was found, according to the office.
An account associated with one of the other people in the vehicle Dorsey exited sent the photo. The DA’s Office declined to name that person. He told the GBI he was in the back of the vehicle with Dorsey before the shooting.
Autopsy photos
Four autopsy photos show where the six wounds are. There was one wound to the right chest that exited his back, one to the right hip and four to the legs. The office cropped and censored the photos to show as little of Dorsey as possible.
The office said the chest wound is consistent with the first shot, seen in frame 164.
Family meetings
Cranford presented the material to the paternal side of Dorsey’s family on November 3. He met with the family’s civil lawyers earlier Friday. The office said it had already met with both sides of the family and shown them the evidence, including the body camera video.
The GBI is still investigating. The District Attorney’s Office said it will keep giving updates as the case develops.
Readers can find more coverage under our officer-involved shooting tag.
