PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a 12-year-old boy who died last year when the car he was a passenger in was chased by Georgia State Patrol and crashed following a PIT maneuver said they are continuing to demand accountability.
According to the attorney for the parents of Le'Den Boykins, they want to see the state troopers and local law enforcement who were involved in the chase charged.
"They killed my son," Le'Den's father, Anthony Boykins, said at a press conference in Paulding County on Friday. "My son was a great kid, loving kid. The community knew that about him - he was everywhere, he left his mark on Paulding County. I just miss him."
The family's attorney, Zenobia Waters, said that five months after Le'Den's death, authorities at the Georgia State Patrol and in Paulding County are still not forthcoming with documentation of the incident such as dashcam videos, bodycam videos and reports into Le'Den's death.
GSP said last year the troopers were under a routine investigation, which is triggered by any fatal wreck. It's not clear if Paulding County authorities have ever conducted an internal investigation.
Anthony Boykins said Friday all the family has heard is that investigations remain pending. Waters said they are not aware of any suspensions to any of the law enforcement officers involved.
"When they decided that they were gonna do that PIT maneuver, they knew that they were gonna endanger somebody's life, and they knew there were children in the vehicle," he said. "So at that point they determined that they were the judge and jury for whatever the situation was at the moment, and that shouldn't be. And the only way to stop them is to hold them accountable."
The family alleged that the troopers and local law enforcement committed several improper procedures the night of Sept. 10, 2021, escalated the situation and deliberately mischaracterized their actions in reports.
Le'Den’s parents, Anthony and Toni Boykins, have told 11Alive previously they believe state troopers could have saved his life. The parents were in Michigan for a family funeral when he was killed. His grandmother, who was staying with Le'Den at the family’s Paulding County home, had given him permission to earn some money by accompanying a close friend and neighbor to his job, cleaning parking lots at night.
The neighbor took his 14-year-old son and Le'Den along to the job site.
While driving home, according to the Georgia State Patrol, troopers pulled him over for speeding. They said that he would not show his driver's license. Instead, according to the GSP, he drove off and began speeding again while driving recklessly, for three and a half miles along Highway 92, until troopers used a PIT maneuver to stop him.
The family has said the neighbor drove off because GSP troopers began allegedly breaking his windows. He expressed fear for his life in a 911 call he made, trying to get law enforcement to de-escalate the chase.
“I am afraid. I’m afraid for my life,” he said. “They need to get them off of me, right now, because I’m scared, I’ve got my kids with me, right now.”
The neighbor's wife later told the parents that when troopers first stopped him, a Black man, he had his son call 911.
“He told the 911 operator, he said, ‘I need for y’all to get a supervisor out here, there’s too many police cars and I’m in fear of my life,’” Toni Boykins told 11Alive in September.
Le'Den's parents have said their neighbor - who has been charged with murder for the boy's death as well as DUI - "does bear some responsibility" for the incident. But they believe regardless of whether the driver's reactions were justified, regardless of whatever charges he may face, troopers should have been more cautious with two children in his car.
“What I do know is, when you see those kids, your decision-making process is supposed to kick in,” Anthony Boykins told 11Alive in September. “But couldn’t they put a roadblock up and protect those kids? They couldn’t figure out any other way than to flip that car over?”
The parents said Friday they were never contacted by any agency when their child died - learning about it instead from the wife of their neighbor. And they said they have not heard from Paulding County Acting District Attorney Matthew Rollins regarding the case.
The family's attorney, Waters, said they want to see murder charges for the law enforcement agents involved.
"We don't have accountability, they have not been held to account," she said. "This child's life matters."
11Alive is reaching out to GSP and other agencies about the case. We will provide an update if we hear back.