Sandersville jury acquits former deputies of murder

Scott and Copeland were also found not guilty of aggravated assault. But the jury remained deadlocked after nearly seven hours of deliberation on the remaining two charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct against the two deputies, as was first reported by Georgia Public Broadcasting.

This is the second time in the case’s history that a mistrial has been declared. In 2021, a separate jury could not reach a decision on any of the charges.

Prosecutors are considering retrying the case for a third time. Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney George Lipscomb told the AJC after the verdict that he plans to speak with members of the jury and see if it is worth pursuing the remaining charges. He cannot appeal the not guilty verdicts.

“If I think there’s a way we can improve and get a verdict, then I intend to try again,” Lipscomb told the AJC.

“I’m sorry we weren’t able to get a verdict for Eurie Martin’s family, but, like I said, we will evaluate it and decide if we should try again,” he added.

Martin, 58, was walking from Milledgeville toward his sister’s home in Sandersville on a hot afternoon in July 2017 when he was approached by Howell. The sheriff’s office had received a report of a suspicious person after Martin walked up a driveway and asked the homeowner for water. The homeowner had refused, and Martin left.

Martin ignored the deputy’s questions and kept walking along the road. Howell called for backup, and eventually, three deputies confronted Martin on the side of the road, shocked him repeatedly with Tasers and physically restrained him face down on the ground. A volunteer firefighter later noticed that Martin was not breathing.

Martin died of an irregular heartbeat caused by the stress of the physical altercation with the deputies, a medical examiner wrote. His blood showed no illicit drugs or alcohol.

Martin was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was a quiet man who kept to himself, Martin’s sister Helen Gilbert previously told the AJC.

The deputies followed their training and responded appropriately since Martin appeared “defensive and defiant” and did not follow their orders, use of force expert Darrell Ross testified for the defense.

Credit: Washington County Sheriff's Depr

Credit: Washington County Sheriff's Depr

The deputies’ repeated use of Tasers on Martin also didn’t cause his death, experts said.

“Mr. Martin’s tragic death was not due to electrocution,” Mark Kroll, a biomedical scientist, testified. “And the use of these electronic control devices did not contribute to the death.”

The deputies had no way of knowing that Martin had an enlarged heart or had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, testified forensic pathologist Michael Graham. Both were listed by the medical examiner as factors that may have significantly contributed to Martin’s death.

“They wouldn’t have known why he was behaving in the fashion that he was behaving,” Graham said. “They wouldn’t know if he had any underlying medical conditions, and they wouldn’t have known that he was going to die.”

Credit: WJBF-TV

Credit: WJBF-TV

Howell, Scott and Copeland were fired by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in October 2017. Whether they are appealing their terminations could not be immediately determined.

Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran has since made his deputies complete a 40-hour course in crisis intervention to better handle people in mental distress.

Lipscomb sought to move the trial out of Sandersville during jury selection because “a fair and impartial jury cannot be obtained in Washington County.” He was concerned at the time that too many potential jurors were being removed.

Judge H. Gibbs Flanders denied the prosecutor’s request, and the trial began on Nov. 12.

During deliberations, the jury sent multiple notes to the judge, including a request to watch the dash camera videos of Martin’s arrest along with a video shot by bystanders who were driving by when deputies initially shocked Martin with a Taser. They also asked for a copy of the autopsy.