Report: Officer who killed Georgia Tech student was "still learning laws" in 2016
ATLANTA — The Georgia Tech campus police officer who fatally shot a 21-year-old student earlier this month was new enough to the job that as recently as 2016 his supervisor noted he was "young and is still learning laws, policies and criminal procedurals," according to a performance review obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Officer Tyler Beck is under investigation for the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Scout Schultz on Sept. 16. Beck was reportedly rated as "Satisfactory" in the first-year performance review obtained by the paper, meaning he met the basic requirements of the job.
He is reportedly on paid leave amid the investigation.
In a cellphone video, five Georgia Tech police officers, their guns drawn, can be seen surrounding Schultz, who was carrying a a multipurpose tool that included a knife. The blade of the knife inside it was folded.
A female officer can be heard yelling, "Come on, let's drop it!" and a male officer saying, "Drop it."
Schultz then responds by saying, "Shoot me," and the male officer replying, "No, drop the knife."
Schultz, 21, appeared disoriented -- and possibly suicidal.
"No one wants to hurt you man, drop the knife," the male officer was heard saying in the video.
When Schultz stepped toward police, one of them fired a single fatal shot.
Schultz, a computer engineering student with a 3.9 GPA, was a leader in Georgia Tech's LGBTQ community. Two years ago, Schultz self-identified as non-binary, meaning neither male nor female.
Bill Schultz, Scout's father, said in an interview with CBS News that Scout was fighting mental illness.
"He was kind of the soul of our family," Bill said. "His loss kinda ripped the heart out of our family."
Bill Schultz explained that Scout did have some issues two years ago after coming out as a non-binary gender and attempted suicide once.
State investigators later confirmed Scout Schultz made the 911 call that instigated the deadly encounter. Scout Schultz also left behind three suicide notes.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Beck was not required to take Crisis Intervention Training, provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which trains officers to recognize signs of behavioral problems caused by mental illness or substance abuse.
The Schultz family -- and their lawyer Chris Stewart -- say police should have subdued the student instead of using lethal force.
"He was not running at the officers or threatening them with a knife. He had a multipurpose tool," Stewart said.
