CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Clayton County woman is calling for justice after a police officer broke down her door, as she tried to keep a man convicted of abuse away from her kids.
11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross just obtained the video from that officer’s bodycam. The woman is using that video as evidence in her lawsuit.
Khanay Yancey said she filed a lawsuit in federal court because she couldn't get justice on her own. She wants the officer held accountably.
"I was in total disbelief, I was shocked," she said. "Once the door came crashing in, he just grabbed me, he was manhandling me, and I am screaming like, 'Why are you here, why are you doing this?'"
Yancey was at home in Clayton County in 2019 when she said her friend's ex-boyfriend showed up.
She said he alleged he had left items inside and called 911 to try and get in to get them back.
However, Yancey said the man had been arrested for domestic violence against her friend so she didn't want to let him in.
Video from the officer's bodycam shows Officer George Tillman responded and demanded Yancey allow the man inside.
The video shows her refusing and closing the door. Then, Officer Tillman breaks the door down and takes her to the ground.
"Everyone in Clayton County knows that this officer violated the law, he violated their policies, he violated the 4th amendment, and everyone to have looked at this has said so. And yet, we are here, many years later, still trying to get accountability from that officer to this day," Attorney Tanya Miller said.
She said the Clayton County Police Department has not offered to settle with Yancey, even though the department’s own internal documents show an oversight board voted to fire the officer before reversing its decision.
"You cannot hire these officers to police, send them into communities, and then when they do an awful, terrible job, pretend that it's not your responsibility. So that's what accountability looks like," Miller said.
The Clayton County Police Department told 11Alive it does not comment on pending litigation.
In testimony recorded in relation to the lawsuit, Officer Tillman said he was scared for his life that day, and that's why he broke the door down.
Yancey said she was the one who was afraid.
"This could happen to any citizen. If you're in your own home, the sanctity of your own home, trying to protect yourself and your children, this should happen to no one," Yancey said.
A court date has not yet been set at the federal building. However, Yancey said she's willing to wait as long as it takes to get one.