SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Police are releasing the body camera video of a South Fulton Police officer who is accused of using excessive force during a confrontation with a man over traffic backing up after an accident.
That officer is now on administrative leave while a state investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is being conducted.
The video from Officer Solomon Muhammad's body camera shows the moments leading up to, and right after, his interaction with Marcus Coleman, Friday.
The officer was filing a report for a traffic accident that happened off Roosevelt Highway that afternoon, when Coleman asked him why he wasn't directing traffic around the crash. The confrontation escalated over the next few minutes, until the officer ultimately placed Coleman in cuffs.
In the video, partially obscured by the officer's safety vest, he can be heard telling his supervisor he used a minimum amount of force when placing Coleman in the cuffs. He admitted to having had his taser in his hand, but said he didn't use it. Coleman told 11Alive in an interview that the officer pointed it at his chest.
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The officer's supervisor recognized Coleman, who they said is an activist for police reform in the city. Officer Muhammad can be heard in the video asking if he should cite Coleman, but the supervisor advises him against escalating the situation further. They eventually let Coleman go, and the officer went back to handling the crash.
He's now on administrative leave while the GBI conducts its investigation into the allegations of excessive force. Meanwhile, the department said it is now reviewing the effectiveness of its officers' body cameras when worn with those safety vests.
In a statement from police, a spokesman said that Police Chief Keith Meadows has ordered that existing vests be modified so they don't block the cameras or that new vests be ordered altogether.