According to a statement released by the Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr., the DA’s office has decided not to pursue criminal charges against Tyler Beck, the Georgia Tech Police Department officer who shot and killed Scout Schultz on September 17, 2017.
“The death of Scout Schultz is a tragedy of major dimension,” stated the press release. “Though, it is difficult to make exact psychological conclusions in such matters, all of the available evidence indicates Schultz decided to take [their] own life by provoking police officers to shoot [them].”
The release goes on to state the circumstances of the incident and provides a recommendation for further action.
“This case should cause police departments to require officers to receive additional training related to the arrest of citizens with psychological issues,” the statement said. “Additionally, this incident should encourage departments to purchase equipment such as bean bags, tasers, and other non-lethal weapons.”
In the years since Schultz’s death, GTPD’s Chief Robert Connolly ensured that all of its officers received Conflict Intervention Training, informed on LGBTQIA issues and equipped with a further arsenal of nonlethal weapons.
Beck has continued to work at GTPD in an administrative capacity as the three year investigation continued.
“Georgia Tech cannot comment on the District Attorney’s decision due to pending civil litigation,” said a statement from Institute Communications when asked for a comment from GTPD. “Officer Beck currently works in the GTPD office as a member of the administrative team.”
In September, 2019, the Schultz family filed a civil lawsuit against Tech, the Board of Regents and Beck himself, claiming that officers on scene were not trained to handle a mental health crisis. That lawsuit is still ongoing.
The attorney representing the Schultz family could not be reached for comment at this time.
Editor’s Note: The Technique corrected the pronouns used in the provided DA statement to align with Scout’s pronouns.