In the winter of 2017, a young Black man named Deaundre Drebo Philips, 24, lost his life in a confrontation with police in Atlanta, Georgia. On the evening of January 26th, near the Police Annex Building on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, what began as a police approach to a parked car ended in a fatal shooting that would leave a family seeking answers for years to come.
According to the Atlanta Police Department, plainclothes detectives approached the vehicle where Philips was sitting because they detected the smell of marijuana. The official account from law enforcement stated that as they engaged with Philips, he attempted to flee in the car. They alleged that one of the officers, Yasim Abdulahad, was partially inside the vehicle as it began to move. It was at this point that Officer Abdulahad fired his weapon, striking and killing Philips. Police also later stated there was a firearm on the floorboard of the car and that Philips had an outstanding warrant.
However, the family of Deaundre Philips, a father to a young child, and their legal representation have vehemently disputed the police narrative. Their attorney asserted that Philips was a passenger in the car and had gone to the annex building with friends to retrieve some documents. They maintain that Philips was not aggressive towards the officers and that surveillance footage of the incident does not align with the police officer's account of events. The family's lawyer also contested the claim that there was a lit marijuana cigarette in the car. The shooting prompted protests from friends and family who demanded transparency and accountability from the police department.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to handle the investigation, and by May 2017, their findings were turned over to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. Despite the completion of the GBI's initial probe, the case lingered without a decision on whether to pursue criminal charges against the officer. Years after the shooting, in June of 2020, the Fulton County District Attorney at the time, Paul Howard, indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic had delayed his plans to present the case to a grand jury. As of that time, Officer Abdulahad and his partner who was also at the scene remained employed as investigators with the Atlanta Police Department. The family continued to publicly call for justice, feeling that their son's case had been forgotten and left unresolved.
