DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The state has paid a metro-Atlanta family a historic amount to settle an excessive force lawsuit.
The payout comes more than five years after Channel 2 Action News obtained dash cam video that shows a trooper shooting into a car trying to get away.
The state agreed to pay AJ Smyrna’s family $5.5 million this week. That’s one of the largest settlements on record.
Thomas Reynolds, Dianna Lee, and Chris Stewart made up the team of civil rights attorneys who represented Smyrna’s family in the civil case.
“From the first time I saw the video, I knew that this was not right,” Reynolds said. “Mr. Smyrna did not have to suffer a death at the hands of a state trooper.”
RELATED STORIES:
- Family of man shot, killed by trooper, wants police video released of deadly shooting
- DeKalb DA says newly aired video shows cause for trooper to open fire on man speeding away in car
- GBI identifies suspect killed by troopers after crashing into patrol car
The deadly encounter happened in Jan. 2020.
Georgia State Patrol Trooper Brandon Byrd said he was trying to pull over a suspected stolen car on a street in Atlanta when he pulled in front of the car to block it.
The driver hit the patrol car while doing a three-point turn to get out of the way. During that time, attorneys said the trooper fired nine shots into the car.
In interrogation video, the trooper said, “I thought he was going to kill me.”
“He was not in front of the vehicle. So, the narrative that the officer was in fear for their life, and that’s why he had to take action, fire shots. To me, it is a non-viable argument,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds also pointed out the bullets fired and when.
“He kept shooting well after the vehicle had passed him, into the rear of the vehicle, with an additional seven shots. If that’s not excessive, I don’t know what is,” Reynolds said.
The DeKalb County District Attorney decided the killing was justified. The family then filed the wrongful death lawsuit in 2021.
The Georgia State Patrol has not responded to requests to comment on the decision to settle this week.
“The family is heartbroken,” Reynolds said. “Hopefully, it will provide something for the family to kind of rely on in the future for his children.
State records show the Georgia State Patrol terminated Byrd in 2023. He worked as a Clayton County deputy until July 2025.
Now, he is an investigator for the DeKalb County Solicitor General. That office prosecutes misdemeanor cases.
©2025 Cox Media Group
