Edgewood Court Residents Throw Bricks at APD Cruisers After Brutality Claims

EDGEWOOD — Two Atlanta police cars were hit by bricks Tuesday evening when they attempted to pass through a scheduled demonstration against alleged police brutality following an incident that happened just a day earlier at Edgewood Court Apartments.

Cell phone footage provided to CBS Atlanta shows an arrest being made on Monday that involved multiple police officers swinging batons and their fists at a suspect as he lay on the ground. According to CBS, "a man became aggressive toward police when they arrested his brother during a domestic violence call."

The man seen in the video getting beaten, is supposedly the brother of the man that they came to arrest for a domestic dispute.  Witnesses told CBS that a crowd of nearly 50 people began to form around the police officers, and they too were threatened by officers with batons.

Kim Jones with the Atlanta Police Department told East Atlanta Patch that, the group, "allege that unnecessary force was used during the arrest, however, they made no formal complaint with the department."

On Tuesday the tension within the Edgewood neighborhood was as its highest when the cell phone footage began circulating, and residents and members of Cop Watch of East Atlanta gathered for a peaceful protest against police brutality.

Officer Kim Jones says that, "around 6:00pm, on Tuesday April 9th, Zone 6 officers were dispatched to investigate a gathering of some kind at the apartment complex located at 1547 Hardee St.  As they were driving through the area, officers were set upon by an angry mob of people and their police vehicles were pelted with fists, bricks, and even a hammer."

At this point the gathering was no longer a peaceful demonstration, as it turned violent against the police presence.  "The officers were outnumbered and decided to leave the area to avoid escalating the situation," says Jones.  The Officers regrouped at a nearby MARTA station parking lot and waited to see if the situation would deescalate.

Kim Jones with APD informed Patch that as the officers were waiting at MARTA, "a trio of individuals approached the officers in the parking lot and began filming them."  What one of these individuals failed to realize, was that one of the officers in the parking lot was driving the vehicle that one of these 3 men hit, and that the officer was able to witness the assailant hitting the vehicle.

Officer Jones says that, "one officer that had been in one of the attacked vehicles recognized one of the three as someone who beat on a police vehicle with his fist.  He was subsequently arrested and charged with the City Ordinance for Disorderly Conduct (acting violent towards property)."

That was the only arrest made Tuesday, in relation to this incident, but APD is still investigating who may have thrown the bricks and hammer at their fellow officers.

Officer Kim Jones says that APD will investigate if excessive force was used in Monday's arrest and that, "Deputy Chief Propes vowed to have this incident investigated to determine if these allegations are true."