A Cobb County father and business owner who was cleared of charges after a fight with police said he wants to use his case as a lesson to build a stronger bond between the community and police.
Renardo Lewis’s case became famous after a video was posted showing his encounter in March 2019 with police inside a Marietta IHOP and the incident led to at least one public protest. Last week, a Cobb Superior Court judge dropped the charges against him.
Lewis said he wants to have a conversation the Marietta Police Department to encourage officers to de-escalate incidents like his before they become part of the growing list of examples used to highlight Black Lives Matter protests.
“We got to have these conversations because we need police officers and police officers need the community,” he said.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Lewis, who is Black, and his wife own RC Southern Cooking restaurant on Roswell Road. The pair also have four children.
Lewis and members of the New Order National Human Rights Organization spoke Tuesday afternoon to a small group of reporters outside his Marietta restaurant about how the encounter changed his life.
“It’s been a long 21 months,” he said. “A lot of pain, a lot of suffering -- mentally, physically and emotionally -- for me and my family.”
The business owner’s run-in with Marietta police began just after midnight March 31, 2019, when cops were dispatched to an IHOP on Cobb Parkway North. They were told Lewis and his wife had a dispute with employees.
In the video posted on Instagram, Lewis and his wife repeatedly tell officers no threat was made. One officer grabbed Lewis and he responded by telling the cop, “please don’t grab me, sir.” Three officers are seen struggling with Lewis, including one who punches Lewis several times.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Lewis said the video of the altercation is hard to watch. Lewis said he’s asked himself what he could have done differently.
“It’s a deep wound and like I said before, it’s going to take a long time to heal,” he said, adding he has nightmares about the incident. “I didn’t think I was going to make it out that night, but I’m glad to be here.”
Cobb prosecutors the court to dismiss the charges against Lewis after the credibility of one of the officers involved was called into question, according to court documents. Marietta police conducted an internal investigation of officer Enrique Mallen for allegedly falsifying his time card and not performing his duties, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Mallen worked with Marietta police from November 2015 until March 2020, when he was allowed to resign as part of an internal investigation, spokesman Chuck McPhilamy said.
The police department said it disagreed with the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office’s request to drop all charges against Lewis and that it stands with the “residents and police officers that were victims of threats as well as physical violence” in the altercation, McPhilamy said.
Once the COVID-19 pandemic goes away, Lewis and Gerald Rose, president of the New Order organization, said they are willing to take part in a town hall meeting with Marietta police.
“It’s time to bridge that gap with law enforcement, period,” Rose said. “All cops are not bad. We need police, but when you send bad apples on the scene, this man might not be here with us.”
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