ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — A teenager claims an off-duty officer ran over his legs with a car outside of a Conyers movie theater.
The teen showed Channel 2's Nefertiti Jaquez the injuries to his legs Monday evening, saying the whole thing started over a parking lot fight.
"It hurts me real bad, it hurts," mother VaShannon Robinson told Jaquez.
Robinson said she's hurting because it's difficult for her to see her son, DeMarco, bandaged up and bruised.
"He had big bruises all over his hips, big gashes all over him like he was run over," Robinson said.
Robinson said her son's wounds are a result of a Rockdale County sheriff’s deputy using excessive force when arresting her 14-year-old son.
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The mother and son allege the deputy ran over DeMarco with his patrol car.
"It's not right that they think because they're cops they can do what they want to people," Robinson said.
The altercation allegedly happened on April 15 outside of a movie theater in Conyers as DeMarco was being arrested.
The teen admits to running from the deputy who was called in to break up a fight between him and a group of boys.
"I started running, that's when the officer sped up and hit the back of my foot. I fell and he ran over my leg," DeMarco told Jaquez.
But according to a police report, the officer said he didn't run over the teen. In fact, he said boy ran into him.
"As I approached the subject, he struck the side of my vehicle and was knocked to the ground," the deputy said in his report.
"I don't buy that at all," Robinson said.
Jaquez contacted the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office about the incident and a representative confirmed their department has launched an internal investigation.
They released a statement, saying: "The alleged situation is unfortunate. The sheriff of Rockdale County wants to make sure that there is a thorough investigation for all parties involved. The sheriff and anyone dealing with this investigation will not rush to judgment and all decisions will be based on the facts."
As for the officer, Jaquez filed an open records request and obtained his personnel file. She combed over almost 200 pages.
While most of his file is full of positive evaluations since joining the force in 1998, he was suspended in 2010 and removed from the SWAT team.
DeMarco has been charged as a juvenile for what happened. The deputy is currently on paid administrative leave.
Jaquez also filed an open records request for any possible dash cam video or video from the strip mall that may have captured what happened.
Cox Media Group
