MOULTRIE — A Colquitt County Grand Jury has ruled that the 2017 fatal shooting of a Moultrie man by a sheriff’s deputy was a justified use of force in the situation. Brad Shealy, district attorney for the Southern Judicial Circuit that includes Colquitt County, announced the jurors’ finding on Tuesday afternoon. Peter Torres was shot on the afternoon of Feb. 4 outside his 153 Blackberry Lane residence after officers were dispatched to investigate a domestic disturbance complaint.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which was requested to investigate the shooting, determined that Colquitt County deputy Joshua Luke fired a single shot that struck Torres in the chest.
Emergency dispatchers had been told, and relayed to police headed to Torres’ residence, that Torres was under the influence of narcotics, had a knife and was “acting violently” toward family members who fled before police arrived because they feared for their safety, according to the grand jury report. Luke and another deputy responded to the location.
Luke, wearing a body camera as was the other deputy, was heading to the rear of the residence when he saw Torres sitting in a chair outside, the report said. Luke ordered Torres not to move three times, the report said, and Torres responded by throwing a metal object and a 20-pound propane tank.
The deputy ordered Torres to show his hands and be still.
“Mr. Torres failed to comply with these commands and began to charge the deputy,” the jury report said. “Deputy Luke was unable to ascertain if Mr. Torres had a weapon.”
Luke retreated and Torres continued to charge the officer, the reports said, despite another command for him to “quit.” As Torres continued charging, the deputy fired his weapon.
“In considering the evidence we must consider it from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene with knowledge of the attendant circumstances and facts, and balance the risk of bodily harm to Mr. Torres against the gravity of the threat the deputy sought to eliminate,” the jury said. “A law officer can use deadly force if he reasonably believes that he may receive serious bodily injury or death from the actions of another.”
The jurors also considered the situation -- that family members who had fled due to Torres’ reported violent behavior had advised law enforcement that he had a knife.
“Deputy Luke had a reasonable (assumption), based on his knowledge of the current facts and circumstances, that his failure to use deadly force could result in he himself receiving great bodily harm or death,” the jury ruled. “Mr. Torres was both failing to follow the commands of Deputy Luke and was coming at him in an aggressive manner. Additionally, although he had no duty to do so, Deputy Luke retreated prior to his discharging his weapon.”
Following the shooting, Torres was stabilized by medical personnel in Colquitt County and taken to a hospital in Macon, where he died on Feb. 16, 2017.
“Mr. Torres’ death was tragic, but he failed to comply with any of the deputy’s commands and charged him in an aggressive manner,” Shealy said. “This certainly justified the use of deadly force by the deputy.”
