ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council has passed a resolution urging all state police to begin wearing body cameras.

This comes after a protester was shot and killed by a Georgia trooper at the site of the proposed public safety training center in January.

In a 13-to-1 vote Monday, council members voted to send the resolution to state government leaders, including the directors of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia State Patrol.

Council member Byron Amos voted against the measure.

“It should just be a basic understanding that law enforcement agencies wear body cameras,” councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari, who introduced the resolution two weeks ago, told Channel 2 Action News.

The passage of the resolution comes after the January shooting of 26-year-old Manuel Teran, who was camping on the site to oppose the facility.

The GBI said the protester was shot and killed after he first fired at troopers, who do not wear body cameras.

That absence of cameras has cast doubt on official reports of the shooting.

Teran’s family has disputed the GBI’s assertion that Teran fired first.

“The timeline has changed so many times, which would not have occurred if there were cameras,” Bakhtiari said.

The city council’s resolution says the lack of cameras on GBI and GSP officers has “placed an undue, unfair, and unacceptable burden” on the city’s police officers, who have worn body cameras since 2017.

“We have no oversight over the state,” Bakhtiari said. “But I thought it was important that the capital city of our state make a statement that we are asking for the lowest level of accountability.”

Once signed by Mayor Andre Dickens, the resolution will be sent to the offices of the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the House, and the president of the Senate.

©2023 Cox Media Group