The controversial Cobb County police officer who was caught on video telling an African American motorist "I don't care about your people" submitted his resignation in a two-paragraph letter on Thursday.
Maurice Lawson was facing a two-week unpaid suspension and required additional training after a lengthy investigation into his traffic stop of Fulton County middle school teacher Brian Baker in November. The video also showed Lawson asking Baker if he wanted to get out of his car to talk, and admitted to fellow officers after Baker left that he “loses his cool every time.”
The investigation found that Lawson had violated departmental policies.
Lawson’s resignation letter provides no reason for stepping down.
“Please accept this as two weeks notice of my voluntary resignation of my position as a Cobb County police officer,” the letter says. “I appreciate the people I’ve met and worked with and the training I’ve received.”
Over the summer, Lawson was also involved in following Commissioner Lisa Cupid while in an undercover vehicle — an encounter that caused Cupid to complain that she had been racially profiled.
Ben Williams, president of the Cobb chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and a group of citizen activists had called for Lawson to be fired over the incident. The group will hold a press conference this afternoon.
More informaiton is available here.
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