ATLANTA — Their arrests at Houston's restaurant in Atlanta grabbed attention more than a year ago. Now, charges have been dropped against at least one of the actresses who claimed they were wrongfully arrested after using the restaurant's bathroom and a viral scuffle with an Atlanta Police officer.
Brittany Lucio no longer faces charges connected to the incident, her attorney Gerald Griggs said.
According to police, an off-duty officer working an extra job at the restaurant was called in by the restaurant's shift manager to remove three women who went into the bathroom on Mother’s Day, May 13, 2018. This was allegedly after the restaurant had closed.
When the officer went into the restroom, he found the three women, identified as Lucio, Asia'h Sharrell Epperson and Erica Walker, all on their phones. The women said they were there to meet friends who were still dining inside the restaurant and were given permission to be there.
After 10 minutes, though, a police report from the Atlanta Police Department indicates staff asked the women to leave multiple times. When they refused, staff called police.
ORIGINAL STORY: Actresses claim they were wrongfully arrested after using Atlanta Houston's bathroom
The police report states the officer's three requests for the women to leave the bathroom went unheeded, and he tried to escort them out. The women, however claim the officer manhandled them when he tried to get them outside the restaurant.
One of the actresses at the center of the incident, Asia'h Epperson, spoke to 11Alive exclusively after the incident, telling Faith Abubey they were never asked by the officer to leave.
"Those (statements in the police report) were false statements," Epperson asserted.
"There was no reason for that man to come into that women's restroom and use excessive physical force, and shove them out the door into the bushes," said Epperson, a 2008 American Idol contestant with other acting credits to her name.
Video of the incident – taken by one of the other women in the group – shows the confrontation and fight that followed. That video was posted to Instagram and soon went viral.
The women were all arrested after the scuffle and charged with criminal trespass. Lucio faced an additional charge of felony obstruction after the officer claimed she tried to fight him. She no longer faces those charges, according to Griggs, after both the District Attorney and Solicitor's offices declined to prosecute the charges.
Griggs said now that Lucio's name has been cleared, she is considering legal action.
"We are glad that this criminal matter is behind her," he said, adding that the "clear" use of force that the officer used was unwarranted.
"There was no need to use that level of force," he said. "To be thrown against the wall ... To handle her in that manner was definitely unnecessary."
PHOTOS: Injuries from Houston's arrest
Last year's incident at Houston's had local rapper Clifford "T.I." Harris calling the restaurant and the officer out on social media – the second time in just months.
In October 2018, a group of patrons called for a boycott after believing they were victims of discrimination over a seating policy at the Lenox location of Peachtree Street. The restaurant has since closed.
Griggs said he did try to reach out to Atlanta Police to get an update on the status of the use-of-force complaint filed after the incident, but said he doesn't know where it stands. Also unclear is the status of charges against the other two women involved, Epperson and Walker.