Police Brutality / Individual record
Nicholas Thomas
Nicholas Thomas, a young Goodyear employee, was unarmed when Smyrna officer Kenneth Owens shot and killed him in a customer's Maserati during an attempt to arrest him for probation violations.
- Record ID
- PB-136
- Incident date
- March 25, 2015
- Outcome
- Fatal
- Location
- Smyrna, GA
- Agency
- Smyrna Police Department
- Category
- Fatal on-duty police shooting
- Age (reported)
- 23
What happened
On March 24, 2015, six Smyrna and Cobb County officers came to a Goodyear shop in Cobb County to serve Nicholas Thomas with a warrant for technical probation violations. Thomas entered a customer's Maserati and drove around the shop. Police said Thomas drove toward officers, and Sergeant Kenneth Owens fired into the car, killing him. His family and advocates disputed the police account and the necessity of shooting. The fatal bullet entered his upper back. The case sparked protests over a death arising from an attempt to serve a nonviolent probation-related warrant. The family pursued a federal civil-rights suit, arguing excessive force and other claims. In 2020, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Owens and the city. This was an adverse civil ruling for the family, not proof that Thomas was armed or that community objections never existed.
Investigation & findings
The Cobb County prosecutor declined criminal charges in July 2015. In April 2020, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the federal court's summary judgment for the officer and municipality.
Washington Post Fatal Force v2; 2015–2024
Source record details
- Source incident ID
- 239
- Race code in source
- B
- Race source method
- not_available
- Gender (source)
- male
- Armed status (source)
- undetermined
- Flee status (source)
- car
- Agency IDs (source)
- 426
Last reviewed: October 25, 2026
Sources & records
- Primary source
- Additional source
- Methodology and national police killings trackingMapping Police Violence · Dataset/methodology
- Fatal Force v2 — fatal on-duty police shootings, 2015–2024The Washington Post · Dataset
- Fatal Force methodology and data limitationsThe Washington Post · Methodology