An indictment has been handed down in the case against a man accused of getting into a dispute with officers at an IHOP in Marietta.
The video of the incident, which showed an officer punching Renaldo Lewis, went viral on social media. However, officers said the recording didn't paint the whole picture of what happened that day. In fact, they said "only the force necessary to place Mr. Lewis in handcuffs" was used.
The indictment was presented to a grand jury on April 18. It lists 14 charges: one count of aggravated assault on a peace officer, five charges for obstruction of an officer, four counts of attempted removal of a weapon from a public official, two counts of terroristic threats, one for disorderly conduct and another for public drunkenness.
On March 31, officers were called to the restaurant on Cobb Parkway North just before 1 a.m. after responding to a 911 call that said a man had "made threats" including "gesturing like he had a gun."
The man's wife reportedly told responding officers that the issue wasn't about threats, but explained they "needed" the restaurant employee names and their phone numbers because she was upset they were out of bacon, according to a police statement. A few weeks ago, the family responded to the allegations, calling them unfounded and claimed that the report from police is false.
“Marietta Police said it’s about bacon. This case has nothing to do with bacon,” his attorney Sarah Flack said earlier this month. “Reducing it to bacon is inflammatory, discriminatory and offensive.”
The indictment outlines each charge claiming that during the incident Lewis assaulted the officers. He's accused of applying pressure around the neck and throat of one of the cops. He also allegedly tried to remove the officers' firearms and a taser.
The terroristic threat charges stemmed from Lewis allegedly threatening to "shoot everyone in this [expletive]" and threatening to cause harm to the IHOP customers and employees.
Flack said that Lewis was tased, punched and kicked by up to six Marietta police officers. According to Flack and Lewis’ wife, two Marietta officers – a man and woman – responded to the restaurant. They said the officer who was a man started screaming at Lewis, pulled him aside and “slammed him against a wall.” They said he also was slammed against a glass table.
In the video that has been circulated on social media, a woman is heard yelling "why?" several times as the officer detained Lewis. The officers brought Lewis to the ground as several people continued to yell. At one point, an officer is seen punching Lewis in the face and several more times to the back of the head as a woman screams, "don't hit him."
This is how the police described the encounter:
"While the video may seem shocking to some, we are very proud that all officers used only the force necessary to place Mr. Lewis in handcuffs. Multiple officers wrestled with Lewis for roughly ninety seconds. During that struggle, Lewis grabbed Officer Fowler by the neck, briefly attempting to strangle her. At that time, Officer Mallin warned and then deployed his taser.
The Officers get Mr. Lewis on the ground but he is still actively resisting their orders. From what we see in the video circulating, Officer Mallin used a series of short-strike punches to Mr. Lewis in order to get him to surrender his hands and be placed in handcuffs. The moment Mr. Lewis was placed in handcuffs all physical struggle stopped."
The Cobb County District Attorney's Office also filed a recidivist notice Tuesday concerning the case. This move alludes to a previous criminal history for Lewis that prosecutors plan to present in court.
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