Reemi Codling turned 25 the night his friend was killed. But calling 24-year-old Deionte Davis his friend isn’t something Codling would do; instead, he’d call him his brother.
On Oct. 27, Davis, who is not a Georgia State student, was staying at the on-campus apartment complex One12 Courtland with his friend, Georgia State student Ronald Myers.
The friends had been drinking to celebrate Codling’s birthday, who was on his way separately to pick Davis up. At the complex, when Davis got in an argument with another friend, a security guard intervened.
Davis went unconscious and the security guard began CPR before he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead.
A WSB-TV article reported that the case has been ruled a homicide.
“It’s so deep because it happened on my birthday,” Codling said. “I can’t stop crying. Had I known that would have been his last night — it hurts so bad because his heart was so genuine. He was never a troublesome kid.”
Alexis Lott, who lives in New York, said she met Davis on a cruise during the summer of 2013 and they’ve been friends since then. Lott said the security guard “killed [her] friend by snapping his neck.”
The direct cause of Davis’ death is still being investigated.
“I have been handling the loss by crying every time I feel the pain. I don’t try to hide it,” Lott said. “I feel anger for this incident. Our people are getting killed one by one by the hands of the system and nothing is being done about it.”
Lott said she’s looking for justice for the guard who killed Davis.
“You should never put your hands on someone who isn’t posing as a threat to you. Deionte was innocent,” she said.
WSB-TV shared footage via Twitter that Myers said was taken by his girlfriend. The video shows the security guard in contact with Davis.
Many of you have reached out about the Snapchat video we used in our 11 pm story. The six second clip shows the security guard grabbing Deionte’s legs while one of his friends is trying to get him to calm down. What we don’t see on video is now at the center of the investigation. pic.twitter.com/S5QrDZ9Sv3
— Michael Seiden (@SeidenWSBTV) October 29, 2019
Joseph Spillane, chief of police for the Georgia State University Police Department, said that that GSUPD is not involved in the incident. Because it occurred in One12 Courtland, which Spillane said is under the Atlanta Police Department’s jurisdiction, the investigation is being handled by APD.
Codling said he doesn’t understand why the security guard would “snap the neck” of an unarmed drunk man, who wasn’t posing a threat.
According to Codling, the guard not only tackled Davis when he got out of the elevator, but he also followed him into the apartment.
Codling said he hopes to hold a candlelight ceremony in front of the One12 complex for Davis’ friends and family.
Editor’s Note: The Signal reached out to One12 Courtland for comment but has not received a response. Continue to follow this page for any updates to the story.
