Deandre Phillips

Deandre Phillips, a 24-year-old Black man and father, is remembered by his family as a loving person who was working to build a future for his young child. His life was cut short on the evening of January 26, 2017, in a fatal encounter with an Atlanta police officer in the parking lot of a city police annex on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

That evening, Phillips was sitting alone in a friend’s parked car when he was approached by two plainclothes detectives, Yasim Abdulahad and another officer, who were at the annex to complete paperwork. The officers later stated they smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and decided to investigate. According to the police account, they engaged Phillips in a conversation, during which he briefly stepped out of the car. Investigators reported that Phillips then suddenly "lunged" back into the driver's seat and started to drive away. At that moment, Investigator Abdulahad was partially inside the passenger side of the car. As the vehicle began to move, Abdulahad fired his weapon once, striking Phillips. Phillips was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police later stated they found a handgun on the floorboard of the car.

The official narrative was immediately contested by Phillips' family and their legal representatives. They questioned the necessity of the shooting and suggested that Phillips, who they believed may have been asleep in the car, could have been startled by the un-uniformed officers and thought he was being carjacked. Their doubts were amplified after the release of surveillance footage of the incident. The family's attorney, Chris Stewart, argued that the video contradicted the police's version of events, particularly the claim that the officer was being dragged by the vehicle. Stewart contended the footage showed the officer was fully inside the car when he fired the shot.

In the wake of the shooting, family and friends held protests, demanding transparency and justice for Deandre Phillips. They disputed the police department's attempts to portray Phillips in a negative light, which included allegations of gang affiliation. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was called in to conduct an independent investigation into the officer-involved shooting. In May 2017, the GBI completed its inquiry and handed the case file over to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office to determine whether criminal charges would be filed against Investigator Abdulahad.

For more than four years, the case remained unresolved, leaving Phillips' family in a painful state of limbo, feeling that his death had been forgotten by the justice system. The long wait for a decision added to their grief and frustration. The family and community advocates continued to press for action from the District Attorney's office, holding onto hope for what they believed would be a just outcome.

Finally, in August 2021, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced her decision not to pursue criminal charges against Yasim Abdulahad. Willis stated that after a thorough review by her office's Use of Force Unit, they concluded that the officer was justified in his actions. According to the DA's office, their investigation determined that Abdulahad was inside the car as Phillips attempted to flee and that Phillips was moving toward the gun on the floorboard when he was shot. This decision was a devastating blow to Phillips' family, who had waited years for a different outcome. They maintained their belief that the evidence was sufficient to bring the case before a jury and that Deandre Phillips deserved his day in court. As of that announcement, the criminal case is considered closed, leaving his loved ones to continue their fight for accountability through other means.