Lawsuit Filed Against Atlanta Police Department After Officer Shoots Man Outside McDonald's

A lawsuit has been filed against the Atlanta Police Department and one of its officers by a man claiming that he was shot by the deputy outside a McDonald's outlet in December 2018.

Speaking to Fox 5, Pierre Ifill said his client, Saleem Wilson, was shot in the back of the neck by Officer Ian Mayfield. On Dec. 22, 2018, officers arrived at the outlet after receiving reports of suspected marijuana use.

Bodycam footage provided to the channel by the attorney shows an officer, Virigina Pena Barrientos, speaking to Wilson while Mayfield is seen conversing with another man inside the restaurant. When Barrientos finds a gun in Wilson's bag, he runs out of the door. The officers can be seen running behind him. Suddenly a taser and a gunshot is heard.

"When he ran out the door, Ian Mayfield gave chase and as soon as my client exited the McDonald's, officer Ian Mayfield grabbed his hoodie and shot him in the back of the neck," Ifill said, adding that Mayfield shot Wilson with the gun he had taken off from the man he was conversing with inside the outlet.

The bullet has since been removed from Wilson’s neck, however, Ifill says his client is traumatized from the incident. A drug charge against Wilson has since been dropped, however, the gun possession charge hasn’t been dismissed.

The attorney added that he wasn’t sure if the officer will face any charges regarding the shooting incident.

"We don't want this swept under the rug. We want justice for Saleem Wilson," Ifill said.

Meanwhile, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office told the channel that an inquiry into the case will be concluded on Sept. 7.

"It shouldn't take you a year and a half for you to come up with the determination that officer Ian Mayfield violated the SOP of the Atlanta Police Department and violated the criminal statues here in the state of Georgia. So, we want Paul Howard to do his job to bring charges against officer Ian Mayfield," Ifill told the channel.

Many cases of police brutality are coming to light following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African- American man who was killed in Minneapolis after a police officer continued to kneel on his neck despite him pleading that he couldn’t breathe.