SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – The clock is ticking on the Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones to decide whether to file charges against the former SPD officer who shot and killed Saudi Lee. News 3 has set an action clock to track how much longer it will take for the DA’s office to make a decision on charges.

We’re doing it because on June 24 it will have been one year since former Savannah Police Officer Ernest Ferguson shot and killed Lee while chasing him in the Carver Village Neighborhood.

The GBI completed its investigation and handed over the case to the DA’s office the week of August 15 of last year, less than two months after the shooting.

News 3 reached out to Jones just over 90 days after that. At that time she said her Public Integrity Team was investigating the case, and that charges were forthcoming.
We reached out again in late February for an update, over 6 months after the GBI handed over the case, but we never got a response.

Members of the Racial Justice Network’s Savannah Chapter, who’ve been working with Saudi Lee’s family, say the family has not heard from the District Attorney or anyone in her office.
That’s even after they publicly demanded action in the case and the release of bodycam footage, a request the DA’s office denied.

In the 10 months since the shooting, Officer Ferguson has been fired by the Savannah Police Department after a DUI arrest in Liberty County and arrested in Florida for allegedly shoplifting.
News 3 will be checking with the District Attorney every day moving forward on whether her office plans to file charges against Officer Ferguson.