In the evening hours of January 26, 2017, a 24-year-old Black man named Deaundre Phillips lost his life in the parking lot of an Atlanta Police Department annex on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. Phillips, a father to a young child, was sitting alone in a friend's car when he was approached by two plainclothes detectives. The officers, who were at the annex to complete paperwork, stated they smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle.
According to the police account, the detectives engaged Phillips in a conversation, during which he briefly exited the car. Investigators said Phillips then 'lunged' back into the driver's seat and attempted to drive away. One of the officers, Investigator Yasim Abdulahad, was partially inside the passenger side of the vehicle as it began to move. It was at this point that Abdulahad fired a single, fatal shot, striking Phillips. A handgun was later found on the floorboard of the car, though initial reports from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation did not indicate that Phillips had reached for it.
The narrative provided by law enforcement was quickly challenged by Phillips' family and their attorney. They argued that Phillips may have been asleep when confronted and, startled by the plainclothes officers, may have believed he was being carjacked. Surveillance footage of the incident was released, which, according to the family's attorney, contradicted the officer's claim of being dragged by the car. The video appeared to show the officer was fully inside the vehicle when the shot was fired. Protests followed the shooting, with family and friends demanding answers and disputing the police department's characterization of Phillips, which included allegations of gang affiliation.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case and turned its findings over to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office in May 2017. For years, the case remained in limbo, causing great distress to Phillips' family, who felt his death had been forgotten. Finally, in August 2021, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced her decision not to prosecute Officer Abdulahad. Willis stated that her office's investigation concluded that Abdulahad was inside the car as Phillips drove away and that Phillips was moving towards the gun on the floorboard when he was shot. This decision was met with disappointment and renewed calls for justice from Phillips' family and community advocates, who felt the evidence warranted a criminal trial.
