Tensions high a year after white Muscogee County deputy killed a Black businessman
A year ago, a sheriff's deputy fired two bullets from a submachine gun into Kenneth Walker's temple. Those shots are still reverberating. Walker, an insurance analyst, was black. David Glisson, the Muscogee County deputy, is white. Glisson thought he was tussling with a drug suspect. Walker, 39, was riding home from partying with friends.The fallout from the hurried struggle on the side of an interstate keeps falling. There was a recall effort against the sheriff and, in November, racially divisive elections for sheriff and district attorney. Biracial reconciliation groups have formed, conspiracy theories abound and distrust permeates Columbus. On Friday, the Walker family filed a $100 million lawsuit against the deputy, the sheriff and the county, alleging that Walker was "executed." The family is represented by Bill Campbell, a former Atlanta mayor, and Willie Gary, a high-octane plaintiffs attorney. Last month, a grand jury deliberated 41 minutes before voting not to indict Glisson on murder or manslaughter charges. Glisson reportedly made an emotional statement to the panel. "They probably believed it was an accidental shooting," the special prosecutor, Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges, said. [more]