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Wrongful Death Suit Against 3 Georgia Police Officers to Proceed
COLUMBUS, Ga. A federal judge says he isn’t halting a wrongful death lawsuit against three Columbus police officers, despite their concerns that the district attorney is seeking to indict them on criminal charges, because he doesn’t believe they can be successfully prosecuted for a crime.
U.S. District Judge Clay Land on Thursday denied the stay request from officers Michael Aguilar, Brian Dudley, and Aaro Evrard.
They sought a postponement after Muscogee County District Attorney Mark Jones named private attorney Christopher Breault as a special prosecutor investigating the death of Hector Arreola, who died in a struggle with officers in 2017. Jones said he hoped Breault would be ready to present the case for possible indictment during the current court term, which ends in two months.
DA plans to take 2017 Columbus excessive use of force case before grand jury
DA plans to take 2017 Columbus excessive use of force case before grand jury By Cindy Centofanti | February 12, 2021 at 8:38 PM EST - Updated February 12 at 10:48 PM
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Four years later, after losing their son to what a Columbus family claims to be excessive use of police force, they are speaking out with the help of the NAACP.
Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mark Jones has also announced his involvement and hopes to bring the case of Hector Arreola before a grand jury.
“We can’t just ignore a death in the community because it involves officers,” Jones said.
Officers could face charges in 2017 death after arrest
February 13, 2021 GMT
COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) A Georgia prosecutor says he will let a grand jury decide whether to charge two police officers after man died in a struggle with them in 2017.
District Attorney Mark Jones told the Ledger-Enquirer that he intends to present the death of Hector Arreola to grand jurors within weeks.
“I think we’ve got to,” he said. “Each side has their own version of the events of what happened, and that’s what the grand jury’s for.”
Jones told WTVM-TV the Columbus police officers could be charged with aggravated assault and murder.