“There’s no such thing,” Stewart said. “It’s disappointing to see the DA perpetuate this myth.”

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Schultz did leave behind three suicide notes, according to the GBI’s investigation of the shooting. And Schultz’s mother told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Schultz had attempted suicide two years earlier and had battled nearly lifelong depression.

“How come the other officers didn’t shoot?” Stewart said.

Attorney Noah Pines, who represents Beck, declined comment. In a statement provided to the AJC last year, Pines and co-counsel Jeff Brickman said, "All evidence shows that Tyler's actions were legally justified and he is therefore immune from prosecution under Georgia law.”

Scout Schultz, a nonbinary Georgia Tech student, was shot after walking toward officers while carrying a multitool, refusing officers’ demands that they drop the object. The student’s family says Schultz had a history of depression and may have had a mental breakdown. (CONTRIBUTED/GEORGIA TECH PRIDE ALLIANCE)

In the video capturing the incident, Schultz can be heard daring police to fire their weapons. Schultz also ignored officers' commands to stand in place, moving slowly toward the four officers who surrounded the leader of the university’s pride alliance.

But even then, Beck’s three colleagues adhered to de-escalation techniques, engaging Schultz in conversation as they slowly backed away. (Schultz identified as neither male nor female.)

Beck stood his ground, shooting a single bullet into Schultz's chest. Howard, in his statement, said Schultz held the multi-tool “menacingly in his right hand.”

“Based upon the clothing he was wearing at the time, it was also highly possible he had a gun,” Howard said.

Beck was the only officer on the scene who had not completed crisis intervention training, designed to help law enforcement recognize signs of behavioral problems caused by mental illness or substance abuse.

The lack of such training forms the basis of a wrongful death lawsuit filed last year by Schultz’s parents against Georgia Tech, the state Board of Regents and Beck, who remains on the campus police force.

Schultz’s death led to a variety of reforms. The university's LGBTQIA Resource Center (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual) was expanded and more money was earmarked for mental health and wellness initiatives. Tasers are now carried by all Tech officers, and crisis intervention training has become standard practice.