Two years ago, a Savannah Police Department officer killed 31-year-old Saudi Arai Lee in Carver Village.
Key details in the officer-involved shooting remain unclear in part because the Chatham County District Attorney’s office and Savannah police have not released body camera footage of the June 24, 2022 death.
The Current has learned that the DA is planning to present evidence to a grand jury sometime this year seeking criminal charges against Ferguson, according to two sources familiar with the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly. The news comes a week after the Lee family filed a wrongful death suit against the city, arguing that the city and the SPD were negligent by hiring former officer Ernest Ferguson and ignoring his long disciplinary record.
At the same time, Ferguson has opened up with his own account of what happened, an unusual occurrence in police shooting cases before trial. His account, which contradicts facts set forward in the civil suit as well as Savannah Police’s own records, were published on a GoFundMe page where Ferguson, who was fired by SPD after a drunken driving arrest months after Lee’s death, raised money for his own mental health treatment.
The legal developments have raised hopes among some Carver Village residents that the Lee family and the close-knit historically Black neighborhood, rocked by the death of the well-liked Lee, might finally see accountability.
“I pray that charges are filed and I pray that we do get the justice that (Saudi Lee) deserves,” said Felicia Walker, a Carver Village resident.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Ferguson hung up while being asked for comment. According to social media posts, he now lives in Texas after residing in a sober-living facility.
Attorneys for Lee’s family, from the Claiborne Firm and Murell Law Firm, released a statement to local media: “We call on the district attorney to charge Ferguson with the unjustified killing of Mr. Lee and release the body camera video to the family and public.”
Eyewitnesses, videos show chaotic scene
The 29-page federal lawsuit filed by Lee’s family against Ferguson, his unidentified partner, and the City of Savannah provides the most detailed account yet of what allegedly occurred during the shooting.
Citing interviews with multiple eyewitnesses, they allege Ferguson is liable for violating Lee’s rights, and the city negligently hired him, completely missing Ferguson’s checkered work history. The Current brought those records to light back in 2022, prompting the police department to change its background check policy.
In the late morning, Ferguson, then a 27-year-old rookie cop patrolling Carver Village, drove past Lee and other men standing outside of a community matriarch’s house. Ferguson and his partner drove around the block and, at around 11:50 a.m., saw Lee walking alone toward the Giant Discount Food Mart.
Ferguson “inexplicably stopped the police vehicle in the middle of the street, jumped out, and barricaded himself behind his vehicle with his weapon drawn, shouting for Mr. Lee to stop,” the suit stated. “Mr. Lee stopped.”
Lee raised his hands and reached for his wallet to show Ferguson his firearm permit, the lawsuit says. He showed his gun and holster below his shirt.
The suit says that Lee was holding his wallet in his right hand, when Ferguson opened fire and shot Lee in the neck and torso. Ferguson’s partner, whose name has not been released by SPD, “did nothing to de-escalate the situation,” it said.
The 31 year old, known to be dedicated to his music and earned the nickname “Spitta,” was hit with such force that he “folded up like a suitcase,” a witness told attorneys.
A video cited in the lawsuit shows a chaotic scene shortly after the shooting.
“Y’all shot him! Now help him!” bystanders can be heard yelling in the video.
The lawsuit alleges that Ferguson and his partner waited approximately four minutes before rendering any type of medical aid.
A second video, posted on Facebook, appears to show an officer attempting CPR on Lee. It is unclear how much time elapsed after the shooting. Lee was officially pronounced dead at Memorial University Medical Center.
Details diverge, Ferguson’s side
Law enforcement, as well as Ferguson himself, have published divergent views of the tragedy.
State police tasked with investigating the officer-involved shooting issued a first press release with preliminary information shortly after Lee’s death. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Lee pulled a weapon from a holster, and “a short chase ensued” before Ferguson shot him.
It is unclear whether the GBI statement was based on body camera footage or if the agency relied on details from Ferguson or other police officers at the scene.
Ferguson’s own account of the shooting, released on his GoFundMe page from October 2023, explains that he shot Lee to protect his own life and others’.
In Ferguson’s telling, Carver Village was “one of the highest crime areas in the city.” Ferguson said he interpreted the area where Lee and the men stood as a “hotspot for weapon and drug offenses.” He said he stopped Lee because he was standing in the road, and Lee would not listen to his commands.
Ferguson’s characterization of the historic Black neighborhood is contradicted by SPD’s annual report from 2022, which does not include Carver Village in its list of areas with high concentrated crime.
In Ferguson’s account, Lee drew a gun, ran away and pointed the gun wildly at him and his partner. “I believed he was going to fire on us or the citizenry at any time. When I drew my firearm, I fired approximately 4 shots in order to stop his actions and threats of death or grave bodily harm to us,” Ferguson wrote.
After Lee’s death, Ferguson struggled with his own mental health, causing him to abuse alcohol, steal to support his drug habit and end up in jail, according to his page. Court records show Ferguson received probation for one felony theft charge in Florida. A theft charge in Chatham County is still pending.
Rift in trust left unaddressed, neighbor says
While the Lee family waits for answers, residents of Carver Village are waiting for healing.
To Walker, who was a friend of Lee’s, the worst part about the June 2022 shooting was that longtime residents had a foreboding that a clash with the police was brewing.
After Lee’s death, The Current revealed that Ferguson had eight use of force incidents before he joined the police force. They occurred when he worked at Coastal State Prison.
SPD did not know of those records, however, due to deficiencies in the department’s background review. The person hired to conduct reviews of potential recruits took the word of the first person he reached at the prison, instead of asking human resources or looking through the documents himself. The prison employee incorrectly said that Ferguson had no disciplinary history.
After being hired by SPD, Ferguson also accrued complaints. In spring 2022, the officer was involved in a controversial incident by the Carver Village food mart. That clash with residents saw Ferguson pointing a department-issued chemical spray at a resident, according to the civil suit filed against the city.
According to Walker, she and other Carver Village residents told Chatham County Commission Chairman and local neighborhood association president, Chester Ellis, their concerns about Ferguson.
An informal community meeting occurred, no complaint was ever filed and Ferguson was briefly removed from his beat in Carver Village, the lawsuit states. This account contradicts what SPD told The Current in July 2022, that Ferguson had never been removed from his beat.
Ferguson resumed patrols in Carver Village after multiple write-ups for use of force and failing to turn on his body camera, court records and news reports reveal.
Walker said the trust between residents of Carver Village and SPD deteriorated resulting from Lee’s death. One resident harassed by Ferguson was traumatized by his encounter and moved out of Savannah altogether, Walker says.
“What little respect they did have, (Ferguson) destroyed,” she said about the reputation of the police in the neighborhood.
“I would love to see you know, more patrolling and more just getting to know the community,” Walker said. “We are a family here in Carver Village. I would love to see that unity with the police department.”
The Current reached out to SPD to ask what efforts they have undertaken to bridge trust in the community since the shooting.
“Savannah Police Department officers consistently demonstrate a commitment to their sworn public safety duties, even under the most difficult of circumstances. With the support of City Council, we continue to invest in technology and resources, which are beneficial to the Department and the community,” spokesperson Averi-Alexya Beck wrote in an emailed statement. “We intend to continue on this path, with demonstrated success.”