Son raises questions over how his disabled father was treated during traffic stop
SOUTH FULTON, Ga. - A South Fulton family is outraged after their 82-year-old disabled father is handcuffed, charged, and allegedly bruised by Senoia police officers.
The traffic stop happened on November 4 at 1:30 a.m. after retired principal and Vietnam veteran Carlos Skeete, Sr. was pulled over because police said he was driving erratically and would not stop on Highway 85 northbound.
His family had no idea where he was and had reported him missing about 7 p.m. on Election Night.
"My main concern was, the only concern I had was, was he alive. Here it is a person that is missing in the big city of Atlanta and you don't know where he is," a worried Carlos Skeete Jr. recalled.
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The younger Skeete was thrilled when police called him and said they had found his father but he is now appalled at the way law enforcement aimed guns at his disabled father who suffers from dementia, pulled him out of the car, and threw him on the ground.
"After you get him and four or five White officers pull guns on him and drag him out the car. You can clearly see no resistance of arrest. They put on the report he resisted arrest,” Skeete’s son said.
The Rev. Dr. Skeete, Sr. who is a retired principal and associate AME pastor vividly remembers the encounter.
Dr. Skeete's son said he took the officers' word for what happened, just a minor traffic stop, and did not become outraged until he viewed the video from that night.
"When I saw the videotape I was like ‘Whoa... that is not what they said happened.’ The first thing they said is they didn't get the alert for the BOLO. That did not sound right. They followed him for nine miles and didn't scan a tag?" Skeete questioned.
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That is why he is now talking to attorneys and wants all the officers involved in the traffic stop fired.
"This is the main reason why [Black lives matter] is trying to change things because we need police reform," Skeete said with resolve.
Senoia Police Chief Jason Edens said he has reviewed the video and believes there were no policy violations on the officers’ parts. He said the lawmen could not see the tag clearly and therefore did not realize a BOLO had been broadcasted.
Rev. Skeete faces three misdemeanor charges in connection with the stop, including fleeing and alluding, obstruction, and passing in a no-passing zone.
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