The veteran officer who fatally shot a man outside an Atlanta police annex in late January was already under investigation for allegedly assaulting a patron at a Midtown gay bar, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.
Anthony Walters, 25, said he was badly beaten, with injuries to his face that required hospitalization, after an altercation with Officer Yasim Abdulahad at Bulldogs on Peachtree Street, where the APD investigator was working a side job.
In his incident report, Abdulahad said Walters had been kicked out of the club but refused to leave. He then became belligerent and punched the officer in the forehead, said Abdulahad, who was in full uniform at the time.
» APD SHOOTING: Video contradicts police account
A scuffle ensued as Abdulahad tried to place Walters in handcuffs, causing the suspect to fall to the ground, the report states. Abdulahad said Walters’ injuries resulted from his fall.
Walters acknowledged having a few drinks but said he has no memory of the altercation and said he would never strike an officer.
“I don’t see what I could have done to anybody to deserve having my face beat in like that,” Walters said. “If he told me to leave I would’ve left.”
Atlanta police confirmed they were investigating the incident but said the probe has been hampered by Walters’ refusal to consent to an interview. Walters said he was advised not talk with police until he had a lawyer.
APD spokesman Warren Pickard said, minus Walters’ account, investigators have no reason to doubt Abdulahad’s version of events.
Walters' co-counsel, Chris Stewart, who also represents the family of the man killed by Abdulahad outside the APD annex, said the officer has already proven he can't be trusted. Abdulahad's account of the events leading up to the shooting of Deaundre Phillips was contradicted last week by surveillance footage that captured the incident.
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