The attorney representing a Cobb County police officer involved in a racially-charged traffic stop says his client did nothing wrong, other than being rude to a motorist.
Lance LoRusso, a former police officer who also serves as general counsel for the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police, said Thursday that there is no evidence that Officer Maurice Lawson’s conduct during the Nov. 16 traffic stop was motivated by race.
LoRusso said the Cobb County Attorney’s Office has completed its investigation into recommended discipline for the officer, who now has until Jan. 13 to respond. LoRusso would not say what the recommendation is, but called it “grossly excessive.”
“The bottom line: was he rude? Yeah,” LoRusso said. “(But) that’s his office and he’s a human being. How much rudeness do you expect a police officer to take before they are rude to someone (in return)? Should that rudeness cost him his career?”
LoRusso also took issue with the motorist, Brian Baker, who a middle school teacher who sparred verbally with Lawson and other officers on the scene. Baker told one officer they were acting like “Gestapo.”
“This is a man who teaches children,” LoRusso said.
The interaction between Lawson and Baker was captured on the officer's dashboard video. At one point, Lawson tells Baker "I don't care about your people" and then asks if Baker wants to get out of his car to talk to the officer. After Baker drove away, Lawson can be heard on the video telling his fellow officers: "I lose my cool, man, every time. Why do I got to deal with (stuff) like that. This is the (expletive) America we live in, ain't it?"
Ben Williams, president of the Cobb chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition, is one of several community activists who has called for Lawson’s termination. He said his position remains unchanged.
“The handling of this issue has tremendous importance because it will either be a point of departure that shows that law enforcement in Cobb is now trying to (get) itself in tune with what needs to take place, or it will be a point of conformation of (the opposite that) many of us have been led to conclude after having worked with and observed police practices in Cobb County,” Williams said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported on the traffic stop in December, and found that Lawson is the same officer involved in aggressively following Commissioner Lisa Cupid, who is African American and has accused the officer of racially profiling her during that July incident.
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