A white Cobb County police officer who was accused of profiling county commissioner Lisa Cupid this summer and who told an African-American driver last month "I don't care about your people" violated the police department's code of conduct with his interaction last month with driver Brian Baker, according to a letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The letter, written by Capt. J.D. Adcock and dated Nov. 24, called Lawson behavior “misconduct” that is “a very serious violation … and not considered lightly.”
“Officer Lawson’s conduct as he spoke with you does not meet our high standards, has brought discredit to the department and himself, and is not now nor will ever be tolerated,” the letter says.
See the full story, and the video, at myAJC.com
Lawson, who has been reassigned, pulled the 33-year-old Baker over on Mableton Parkway for allegedly speeding and failure to maintain his lane. The incident was captured on Lawson’s dash board video. After receiving the ticket, Baker asked Lawson if he could leave. Lawson replied: “Leave. Go away. Go to Fulton County. I don’t care about your people, man, go.”
Baker then questioned Lawson about the statement, and the officer asked: “Do you want to step out of the car and talk to me?”
After Baker drove off, Lawson remarked to other officers at the scene: “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?”
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