Georgia trooper charged with murder in shooting of Black man. 'He was a kind soul,' widow says at vigil.

SYLVANIA, Ga. – Family, friends and people seeking social injustice reform gathered Friday evening in downtown Sylvania for a candlelight vigil for Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis, who died from a Georgia State Patrol trooper’s single shot seven days earlier during a traffic stop on a county dirt road.

Trooper Jacob Gordon Thompson, 27, was charged by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with felony murder and aggravated assault three hours before the start of the vigil for Lewis, a 60-year-old carpenter who was characterized by loved ones as a “great caring man.”

The president of Georgia's NAACP chapter called the slaying of Lewis another chilling example of a Black man being killed unlawfully by a white law enforcement officer. An attorney for Lewis' family said the trooper initiated the traffic stop over a burned-out tail light and Lewis was shot almost immediately after the trooper forced his car into a ditch.

The GBI said Lewis was fatally shot Aug. 7 after a chase in rural Screven County, about 60 miles northwest of Savannah. This marks the 56th officer-involved shooting this year investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

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“He was a kind soul. He was a people person. He would take his shirt off for you,” said Betty Lewis, the victim’s widow, at the vigil that drew approximately 200 on a humid night in a city filled with a great deal of uncertainty about what might occur after a now-fired white trooper ended the life of a Black man.

“We need more from a public servant who is supposed to help,” said Betty Lewis, wearing a T-shirt with a picture of her husband on the front. Lewis called her spouse “her soulmate.”

“He died by the hands of a murderer,” Betty Lewis said. “This is only the first phase. This has got to stop. Justice for Julian.”

Lewis was laid to rest Saturday morning with graveside funeral services at Charlestown United Methodist Church in Screven County.

“Screven County has shown up for Screven County,” said Francys Johnson, a former Georgia NAACP president who grew up in Sylvania who is representing the family. “Julian Lewis did not deserve to die like he did on Stoney Pond Road.”

Johnson said Lewis reportedly was being stopped by Thompson for a blown out taillight. Johnson said Lewis was shot in the head.

The GBI began its investigation on Aug. 7 at the scene of the death. The GBI reported Thompson attempted to stop a Nissan Sentra for a traffic offense on Stoney Pond Road. When Lewis did not stop, Thompson began a vehicle pursuit that went down several country roads.

Thompson initiated a Precision Intervention Technique (PIT maneuver), causing Lewis’ car to crash into a ditch along the road, and Thompson discharged a round, fatally striking Lewis.

Thompson wrote in a GSP incident report after the shooting that after Lewis’ car wrecked, the trooper stopped his patrol vehicle “approximately even with the violator’s vehicle.” Thompson wrote he drew his weapon as he got out of his patrol car because he was concerned about his safety.

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Lewis then revved his engine, Thompson wrote. This reportedly led Thompson to activate the light on his weapon. Thompson’s report said he saw Lewis with both hands on the steering wheel, and then “wrenching the steering wheel in an aggressive back-and-forth manner towards me and my patrol vehicle.”

“It appeared to me that the violator was trying to use his vehicle to injure me,” Thompson wrote. “Being in fear for my life and safety, I discharged my weapon once.” The report from Thompson reads that he unsuccessfully tried to help Lewis.

The Georgia Department of Public Safety terminated Thompson due to his “negligence or inefficiency in performing assigned duties; or commission of a felony.”

The GBI will continue its independent investigation. Once the investigation has been completed, it will be turned over to the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney for review.

Thompson, who was hired by the GSP on July 28, 2013, currently is being housed in the Screven County Jail. Thompson is represented by Statesboro attorney Keith Barber.

Johnson commended the “swift action” of the charges. He noted this was different than other law enforcement-involved deaths in Georgia and nationwide. The GBI and FBI also have launched a separate civil rights investigation into the shooting.

“That ex-trooper was arrested and sits in a Screven County Jail awaiting trial,” Johnson said. “If you want to clap for anything, clap that the system appears to have worked for us today.”

He added: “Today is justice for Julian, but next week it could be for any of us,” said Johnson who will be joined in representing the Lewis family by Decatur’s Mawuli Davis of Bozeman and Davis Law.

The Georgia NAACP-led JUSTGeorgia Coalition and New Georgia Project, Black Voters Matter, and Screven Forward spearheaded the vigil as 56 candles were lit for each of the law enforcement-involved GBI investigations in 2020. A 57th also was lit to represent a possible next investigation.

Ida Daughtry, a member of Screven Forward which encourages voter registration and voter participation, told the Lewises she hopes “your family gets some sort of closure.”

“If there is a silver lining, his death will help change Screven County,” Daughtry said. “We can really have conversations about change.”

Georgia President of the NAACP Chapter Rev. James Woodall said a state of emergency was declared after the death of Lewis. Woodall called law enforcement-involved deaths domestic terrorism.

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“We are done dying,” Woodall said. “Enough is enough. We will not stand for this injustice. This has been going on for 400 years. Every part of this system has failed us. If we want justice, we must start from the top on down. We will continue to fight this injustice.”

“You never think you will be here for a gathering like this,” said Consuelo Hodge, one of Lewis’s sisters and the youngest of 11 children. “We are asking ‘Why?’ Our brother didn’t deserve this.”

Hodge said Lewis was a “great brother” and “great guy.”

“We hope the cop gets what he deserves,” Hodge said. “It is at the hands of the police and those are the people we are supposed to trust. We are going to see where it goes from here.”

Sister Jackie Rose: “I don’t know if this was a hate crime, but I do want to know why.”

“All people are equal. All people matter. We want justice for anybody,” said sister Myra Hilton. “We loved our brother. We will miss our brother.”

“My brother was killed on Aug. 7,” said sister Tonia Lewis. “A young man is in jail. His family is grieving as well.”

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis death: Jacob Gordon Thompson charged