Chatham County District Attorney Meg Heap is reviewing a state investigation into the Sept. 18 fatal shooting of a 29-year-old Savannah man by a local police officer.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation turned its findings in the shooting death of Charles Smith by Savannah-Chatham police officer David Jannot over to Heap on Monday, said spokeswoman Kristin Fulford.
Heap will review the file and determine if any additional information is needed from the GBI, Fulford said.
The district attorney probably will present the findings to a grand jury, Fulford said, but there is no timetable for how long it will take her to review the GBI’s file.
Smith, a black man, was shot and killed by Jannot, who is white, on Augusta Avenue late on the morning of Sept. 18.
The shooting spurred nightly protests for days afterward in the city’s West Savannah neighborhood.
Jannot, a 10-year veteran, who was placed on paid administrative leave, passed a drug test, city and police officials said.
Announcing the findings of a preliminary investigation shortly after the shooting, GBI agents said Smith, who had just been arrested at a nearby convenience store, had slipped his handcuffed arms from behind his back to the front of his body while in the back of a patrol car, then kicked out a window of the vehicle.
Officers told the GBI they saw Smith had a gun as he attempted to get out of the patrol car, and Jannot shot him at that point, the GBI determined in its preliminary investigation.
Crime scene investigators found a gun under Smith’s body. The GBI has not publicly said how Smith managed to hide a gun while in police custody.
The GBI has declined to release information about the type of gun investigators recovered at the scene.
Videos of the arrest released by the city show officers wrestling Smith to the floor of a convenience store. Before they enter, Smith turns out his pockets while at the counter talking to the clerk. During their struggle, what appears to be a cellphone slides across the floor and Smith’s hat comes off.
His pants, which are baggy, appear to get slightly pulled down in the scuffle, and officers climb on top of him while handcuffing him and appear to briefly pat him down. Later, while they walk Smith to the patrol car, his shirt is raised exposing his midriff, and officers appear to briefly pat his backside again before placing him in the back of the car without a struggle.
Police were arresting Smith on seven warrants related to a Sept. 1 incident. He had been charged with acquiring a license plate to conceal the identity of a vehicle, failure to obey a traffic signal device, failure to stop at a stop sign, felony fleeing to elude, obstruction of officers, reckless driving and theft by receiving stolen property (auto).
Speaking at a West Savannah church in mid-December, members of Smith’s family said they awaited the results of the investigation and the outcome of any action by the district attorney or grand jury.
“I just want to say that I hope we get what was promised to us,” said Smith’s sister, Janie. “They promised us a clear, fair, just and transparent investigation.”