There’s been another officer involved shooting that’s getting talked about on Twitter, this time involving cops in Smyrna, Georgia who shot and killed Nicholas Thomas on Tuesday after Thomas allegedly attempted to hit the officers with his car:
Investigators said Cobb County and Smyrna police went to Goodyear Tire to serve an arrest warrant for a probation violation. It happened in a parking lot near Cumberland Parkway and Paces Ferry Road at about 1:30 p.m.
They said the man saw police when they approached his place of work and tried to flee.
Police said officers feared for their life when the suspect jumped in a car, tried to get away, and drove at them in the white Maserati.
And Thomas has a history of attacking cops with — wait for it — his car.
The man shot and killed by police as he drove a Maserati toward them at a shopping plaza in Vinings has a history of eluding police officers.
According to court records, 23-year-old Nicholas Thomas was convicted in 2014 of aggravated assault on a peace officer and attempting to elude capture. On Mar. 21, 2013, a Kennesaw State University police officer attempted to pull over Thomas for speeding; Thomas accelerated and drove at the officer.
Although many on Twitter see this case as another example of cops shooting an unarmed black man:
Completely seriously though, today I mourn for #NicholasThomas. I am tired of police killing black men. When will the violence end?
— ? tobin heath stan (@glaserface) March 25, 2015
Officers get away with murder simply by saying they "feared for their lives." And that's it. #NicholasThomas
— From Dottie, With Love ? (@iWRIGHTmymemoir) March 25, 2015
Media would rather flood your timeline w/ news about #OneDirection but not mention #NicholasThomas death.This is what's wrong with America.
— ☯ SweeT T ☯ (@Infamous_T21) March 25, 2015
the police got another one. #RIP #NicholasThomas Atlanta police opened fire on Nicholas… (Vine by SeenItAll) https://t.co/GDOPudEPPi
— ShiiMink ♠ (@Sedeejia) March 25, 2015
The crime: A nice car/parking tickets.
The sentence: Unarmed. Killed.White America takes a nap. #NicholasThomas pic.twitter.com/XhugujkyYq
— Kajieme Powell’s Life Mattered (@drumbeats4peace) March 25, 2015
Even reporting the facts of Thomas’ violent history toward police is somehow out of bounds:
And the demonization of black victim begins…#NicholasThomas @deray @ShaunKing pic.twitter.com/P2ANNH5IeC
— Heather ♿?? (@MissJupiter1957) March 25, 2015
Victim blaming. Not only did the media start announcing what type of car it was that #NicholasThomas was driving now it's his "past"
— Johnetta Elzie (@Nettaaaaaaaa) March 25, 2015
And the crime-scene had brought out the amateur CSI detectives:
Again, they say #NicholasThomas was driving towards them. Then why are there no bullets in the windshield? pic.twitter.com/Ui9RyHSowG
— deray (@deray) March 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/OrangePuck/status/580786759904055296
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/580743536318013441
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/580742628242800641
Or maybe the explanation is as simple as the cops moved out of the way because they didn’t want to be hit by Thomas’ car?
We’ll update this post as new information becomes available.
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