Judge to decide if lawsuit against South Fulton, police officer can proceed
Activist sues City of South Fulton
A Fulton County Superior Court judge will soon decide if a community activist can move forward with a lawsuit against the City of South Fulton and one of their former officers after an encounter caught on camera. The incident happened back in Jan. 2021 when community activist Marcus Coleman drove up on a bad accident.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A Fulton County Superior Court judge will soon decide if a community activist can move forward with his suit against the city of South Fulton and one of their former officers.
FOX 5 first reported this encounter back in January 2021 when community activist Marcus Coleman drove up on a bad accident. What happened next is now the subject of the suit against the officer.
The community activist claimed in the lawsuit he was assaulted and suffered emotionally harm.
This video shows what happened when Coleman got out of his car and asked then-South Fulton Police Officer Solomon Muhammad why no one was directing traffic at a bad accident on Roosevelt Highway and Ricky Hill Road.
The two had words and video appears to show the officer trying to slap Coleman's cellphone from his hand.
Coleman filed suit in federal and superior court claiming he was assaulted, wrongfully detained, and suffered emotionally distress.
Solomon was suspended for 3 days for violating department policy.
Attorneys for South Fulton argued Tuesday in Fulton County court, a federal judge had already ruled Coleman was legally detained.
A Fulton County Superior Court judge will soon decide if a community activist can move forward with his suit against the city of South Fulton and one of their former officers.
They are asking Judge Jane Barwick to follow the federal judge's opinion.
"We believe that Mr. Coleman cannot argue that he was wrongfully detained. He cannot argue that he was a victim of assault and battery because if he had been the victim of assault and battery it would have qualified for excessive force. The district court determined that the amount of force you used was reasonable," attorney Alex Joseph, who represents the city, affirmed.
A Fulton County Superior Court judge will soon decide if a community activist can move forward with his suit against the city of South Fulton and one of their former officers.
However, attorneys for the community activist say the officer went too far with his actions. Even worse, they say the officer should have never detained Coleman for 20 minutes in his police cruiser.
"The incident was an overstep of bounds by the officer. I am not going to try and relitigate the facts of the matter, but I do believe a jury should determine whether it was an intentional infliction of emotional distress. It was definitely assault and battery. It's clearly shown on the video," Coleman's attorney, Theida Salazar, said in court.
A Fulton County Superior Court judge will soon decide if a community activist can move forward with his suit against the city of South Fulton and one of their former officers.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick says she will rule on this much talked about case in the coming days.