Atlanta city councilman's traffic stop raises concerns about discrepancy in ticketing policy

ATLANTA - Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Lewis was handcuffed and charged in early February with possession of marijuana after he was pulled over for an expired registration.

He says the stop didn't bother him until he was asked to do something that revealed the officer didn't know about a recent policy change.

Since marijuana is decriminalized in the City of Atlanta, Lewis was ticketed instead of taken to jail. The problem was with the officer asking him to sign the ticket.

"I'm going to be honest, I smell marijuana coming out of your vehicle," the officer could be heard saying in the video. "You have two options: you can either give it to me and we'll be cool and I’m gonna give you a ticket for it, or I’m gonna bring dogs and all that s---, and I’m gonna find all of it."

Lewis complied with the officer. He was seen on camera handing over an unsmoked blunt filled with what the police report claims was four grams of marijuana.

Atlanta City Council Member Antonio Lewis was cited for marijuana possession during a traffic stop along University Avenue on Feb. 2, 2024. (Atlanta Police Department)

After the incident, Lewis opened up about the encounter before the City Council at the meeting on Monday.

"Finding out in that moment that I was powerless," Lewis said. "And what I mean by powerless is that the laws that we have initiated here, and the guidelines that we put out as a city, they don’t mean nothing if the officer does not know."

Last year, Deacon Johnny Hollman died in Atlanta police custody after refusing to sign a ticket. The department then changed their policy, removing the signature requirement.

Nearly four months later, the officer who pulled over the councilman warned he could be locked up.

"Refusing to sign the ticket is another ticket. Then we'll just end up in city jail. So the choice is totally up to you, man," the officer could be heard saying in the body camera footage.

Last week, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told the Public Safety Committee that all officers got the memo about the policy change during the roll call. But, some may have slipped through the cracks.

"The challenge we run into … we can miss somebody," Schierbaum said.

Lewis wasn't satisfied with that response.

"I’ve never heard nothing like that in my life. Because if I’m on vacation and a new guideline comes out, when I come back to work, they tell me that guideline," he said.

Lewis signed the ticket the morning of Feb. 2, and the officer released him on the scene.

While the councilman was right about the policy change, he says he hopes the way he handled things in the moment serve as an example to never resist or argue with an officer, and figure it out later before a judge.

"What I try to talk to young people about is, when you’re on the scene you cannot hold court in the street. You will die," he said candidly. "You will die."

Lewis is due in court in April for the citations for suspended registration and marijuana possession.

If the possession ticket holds, he may have to pay a fine of up to $75.