SNELLVILLE, Ga. —
Bodycam video shows the moments a Snellville father was arrested and taken to jail Tuesday but doesn't say a word about his infant daughter he left in the car, who later died.
The full 40-minute-long video obtained by 11Alive Thursday confirms Snellville Police's account, in which officers said Davied Japez McCorry Whatley never mentioned 8-month-old Nova Grace Whatley-Trejo while he was being taken into custody.
The 20-year-old father showed up at the police station around 2 p.m. to pick up guns that were confiscated in a previous case. Officers said they arrested him there Tuesday for a misdemeanor probation violation stemming from a hit-and-run crash with no insurance.
In the video, an officer transporting Whatley tells him he only has a "minor violation."
Officer: Were you arrested then? In January of this year?
Whatley: Yeah, but that was after I had paid off my fine. She told -- the judge told me, she was like, "Yeah like a $1,000 fine to pay." She was like, "You paying it today or not?" I was like, "No." She said, "Okay, I'll send you 12 months probation." She said, "Soon as you pay it off, you're off probation." I paid it off.
Officer: You could get out today.
Whatley: Yeah
Officer: It's not a huge one. It's only $171.
Whatley: Yeah, processing long as hell.
Officer: I have nothing to do with your probation, man. I was coming to use the restroom, and they said they had you in custody there. So, I'll get you up there as soon as possible, man. You can get out today. Sound good?
Whatley asks the officer for his cell phone at one point, but nothing about Nova. It doesn't appear the officer ever gives Whatley his cell phone.
Former Fulton County Sheriff's Office Deputy Charles Rambo said while it's not illegal for an officer to give a detainee their phone, it's not typically a priority.
"Rules and regulations tend to be flexible at the office of discretion. But then again, it really depends upon the urgency of what the person needs to use the cell phone for, particularly once they've been found on a warrant and then are in route for transport to a facility," Rambo explained.
After he answers a few questions confirming his information, Whatley stays silent for the remainder of the 25-minute car ride. Police said the footage chronicles their entire interaction with him — from first contact in the lobby to when he arrived at the jail.
Seven hours after her father's arrest, Nova's grandmother brought her to Piedmont Eastside Medical Center's emergency room, where hospital staff determined she was dead. They said she'd been in the car at the police station the entire time.
According to 11Alive meteorologists, the high temperature in metro Atlanta that day was around 86 degrees.
Police said Whatley bonded out of jail Tuesday night for the probation violation but was arrested Wednesday again. He is charged with second-degree murder following Nova's death.
11Alive has edited the video to include only the moments Whatley speaks to officers. Watch the bodycam footage below: