ATLANTA — A federal judge dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed by the parents of an environmental activist who was killed while protesting the construction of the Atlanta-area police and firefighter training center known as 'Cop City'. The lawsuit was filed by the parents of Manuel Paez Terán, also known as 'Tortuguita'.

U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg ruled that because Terán initiated gunfire by shooting a Georgia state trooper, the troopers' use of deadly force was reasonable. Grimberg ruled that the troopers had qualified immunity from the lawsuit.

The 26-year-old activist was shot dead by Georgia state troopers on January 18, 2023, during a protest against the construction of 'Cop City'. Georgia state troopers fired pepper balls into Terán's tent after Terán, who was accused of criminal trespass, did not comply with orders to leave the tent.

Terán shot and wounded one of the Georgia state troopers. Following the shooting by Terán, troopers fired fatal gunshots that killed Terán.

Attorneys for the parents said in a statement: "They feel they are being denied the accountability they deserve." The attorneys added, "The records of their child's death still have not been publicly released." They stated, "They will be reviewing all their legal options."

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the footage shows officers encountered Terán in a tent in the woods and fired in self-defense after Terán shot at troopers and ignored verbal commands to leave the tent. A prosecutor declined to charge the troopers who killed Terán, saying their use of deadly force was objectively reasonable.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that body camera footage from four Atlanta officers involved does not show the shooting itself. Investigators said that ballistics evidence shows the trooper who was wounded was shot with a bullet from a gun Terán legally purchased in 2020.

The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center opened last year on the site of a forest and former prison farm just outside Atlanta. Activists formed the 'Stop Cop City' movement to protest the construction of the 85-acre training center.

Activists said the training center would cause environmental damage by cutting down large numbers of trees and exacerbate flooding concerns in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Activists said the training center would use tens of millions of dollars in public funding as a training ground for urban warfare.

Some protests against the training center involved masked activists torching police cars and construction equipment. In 2023, a racketeering indictment was filed against 61 protesters in connection with actions at the protests.

A Fulton County judge dismissed the racketeering case on procedural grounds last year. Republican Attorney General Chris Carr is appealing the dismissal of the racketeering case.