- Police Brutality Watch

A grand jury may have exonerated a Columbus police officer in the shooting death of Kenneth Walker, but that doesn't mean the case is closed. Activists who see Walker's death as police brutality hope for a civil lawsuit and possible federal charges for violating Walker's civil rights. State criminal charges are impossible now for Muscogee County Sheriff's Deputy David Glisson. A Columbus grand jury said Tuesday there wasn't probably cause for a case. But Glisson could still face a trial, possibly even a federal criminal trial, for the Dec. 10 shooting death of Walker. Then-Deputy Glisson shot Walker during a traffic stop along Interstate 185. Walker and three friends were riding in a gray GMC Yukon seen leaving an apartment that was under surveillance by Metro Narcotics Task Force agents for drug activity. Officers ordered the four men from the vehicle and during that time, Walker was shot twice in the head. No drugs or weapons were found in the Yukon, on Walker or on the other men. Glisson was fired in February. The grand jury considered indictments on felony murder or involuntary manslaughter, but after reviewing the case and a videotape of the incident decided not to indict Glisson. The officer now could face federal charges for violating Walker's civil rights, said Emory University law professor Richard D. Freer. Thousands of these cases are filed each year, he said. [more