Photo credit: facebook/City of Newnan (Government) is with Newnan Police Department.
The case involving 18-year-old Zadarious Dorsey has taken a new legal turn. His family says it plans to pursue a $75 million wrongful death claim against the city of Newnan and the officer who shot him on Oct. 3.
The announcement came today as civil rights attorneys joined Dorsey’s relatives for a news conference. The legal move comes while the Georgia Bureau of Investigation continues its review of the encounter.
According to the GBI, a Newnan officer followed a white car shortly after 1 a.m. near Dodson Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The vehicle later stopped on Cliff Circle. Five men left the car, and four ran.
The officer chased Dorsey on foot. Investigators say the officer gave commands and used a Taser. The GBI says the Taser did not stop Dorsey. Investigators then say the officer saw Dorsey pull a handgun from his waistband before firing several times.
Dorsey was taken to a hospital, where he died.
What the evidence says about Dorsey
The recovered handgun has become a major point in the case. The Coweta County District Attorney’s Office says investigators found a Canik 9mm pistol about 42 feet from where Dorsey fell. The gun had also been reported stolen in Albany, Georgia.
The GBI later found Dorsey’s DNA on the firearm. However, that finding does not by itself establish exactly when or how Dorsey handled the gun during the chase. The DA’s office has not taken a position on whether Dorsey was holding the weapon when the officer fired.
Attorneys for Dorsey’s family dispute the official account. They maintain that the body camera footage did not show Dorsey holding a gun when the shots were fired. They have also questioned how the firearm ended up more than 40 feet away.
The DA’s office has reviewed the body camera footage with Dorsey’s family. Officials have said the criminal review will focus on whether the officer reasonably believed deadly force was necessary to protect himself from death or serious injury.
What happens next in the Dorsey case
The GBI investigation remains active. The district attorney will decide whether the available evidence supports criminal charges.
The DA’s office has also said it intends to release evidence, including body camera footage, after the medical examiner completes the autopsy process and the family has had an opportunity to review the material.
For now, the case remains divided between an official account of an armed confrontation and a family account that challenges whether Dorsey was armed when the shots were fired. The coming release of additional evidence could provide more clarity.
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