BY THE OBSERVER STAFF
OPELIKA — A crowd of citizens gathered at Christ Temple Holiness Church in Opelika last week for a “Justice for Tias” rally. Participants expressed grievances around the fatal shooting of a citizen by an Opelika police officer at Century Park Apartments on Century Blvd. last month.
Several attendees said there is a high level of distrust toward the officer who fired the shot that killed Tias Desquan Cobb, 25, of Auburn in the early morning hours of Aug. 18. Some attendees also expressed displeasure regarding the way the media reported on the incident; namely, that media identified the person shot by the officer as being armed — but did not report that he had undergone a background check to legally obtain a firearm.
An attorney identified as Ryan Williams of the RCW Law Group spoke to the group by telephone. He said he has filed to have the footage from police dashcams and officers’ vests released to the public as soon as possible.
“It’s time for us to get together now and make sure that we get the answer that we deserve, that we need [transparency] from the law enforcement officers, and we hold everyone accountable,” Williams said. “We’re going to make sure that we get the videos. We’re going to investigate this to the fullest on our own end. We’re going to put our resources behind it. There’s a video here. We want to see it all. We want to comb through every inch of that apartment complex. We want to talk to every person that can see this so that we can make sure that… justice comes.”
Others among those in attendance were Oscar Penn of Concerned Citizens of Opelika, Elder James Johnson of Racial Justice Network and Laticia Smith of the Lee County Chapter of the NAACP.
The Racial Justice Network announced it will hold a protest march in Opelika at noon on Sept. 7. Those wanting to participate in the march should meet at the corner of Toomer Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Opelika.
Opelika’s Chief of Police, Shane Healey, issued the following statement upon a request by The Observer for more information regarding this matter.
“We understand the family’s desire for immediate justice along with the community’s desire for answers. As a department, we are committed to serving our community with fairness, and in doing so, we must adhere to strict guidelines and procedures to uphold due process.
“It is our hope that the Opelika community, whom we have spent countless years building relationships with, understands the need to follow established legal proceedings to ensure a fair and just outcome.”
