Internal Investigation into Officer Bias Claims Concludes Monday

SMYRNA-VININGS, GA -- The director of the Cobb County Department of Public Safety says the investigation into the Cobb County police officer caught on his dash camera making allegedly racist remarks against a black motorist will be completed on Monday.

Officer Maurice Lawson pulled over black motorist Brian Baker on Mableton Parkway on Nov. 16 and was recorded on dash camera footage telling Baker to “Go back to Fulton County” and saying “I don’t want to hear about your people.”

Lawson issued Baker tickets for speeding and failure to maintain his lane, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Cobb County police have formally apologized to Baker and have reduced his tickets to warnings.

“While it would be inappropriate for me to comment as to specifics, the Department, following Constitutional due process requirements, will, upon the officer’s return on Monday, Dec. 14, present the results of the internal investigation and proposed recommended disciplinary action to the officer,” Director Sam Heaton said in a statement.

Lawson will have 48 hours to address the charges before the recommended disciplinary actions are enforced, Heaton said.

The “results of the internal investigation, disciplinary recommendations, and the final resolution” of the situation will be withheld until the process is complete, according to Heaton.