DeKalb teen says he was wrongfully arrested while trying to go to the gym during protest

DORAVILLE, Ga. - A 17-year-old high schooler says DeKalb County Police wrongfully arrested him as he tried to go to the gym to work out with his friend.

Arrest records show police took Geronimo Edwards into custody as they responded to the June 14 "No Kings" protest on Chamblee Tucker Road.

SEE ALSO: 8 arrested after DeKalb police use tear gas to break up protest

Geronimo Edwards arrested

What they're saying:

"I was just trying to go to the gym," Edwards said.

Geronimo Edwards said he and a friend were trying to go to Planet Fitness there, but the gym was closed due to ongoing protests.

He said cops arrested them at a gas station across the street while they waited for a ride home.

"My friend tells him, oh, we're waiting for an Uber. And then they say, we don't care about that. We don't care about that. You guys need to go," Edwards said.

Moments later, he said he was in handcuffs.

"I asked him, 'What am I being arrested for?' And he said, 'Because a cop -- a witness saying that you were just going to put rocks in your bag and throw rocks.'"

DeKalb County Police declined to release bodycam video, citing pending prosecutions.

‘No Kings’ protest on Chamblee Tucker Road

‘No Kings Day’ protest on Chamblee Tucker Road

Timeline:

The arrest happened during the protest on June 14 near Chamblee Tucker Road.

Edwards was taken into custody and spent roughly 72 hours in the DeKalb County Jail, according to jail records.

He recalled police asking where those rocks were.

"'There's nothing in your bag. There's nothing in your bag. Why don't you have anything in your bag?'" Edwards recalled. "I was like, 'I have all my gym stuff on. The bag is just to put all my stuff in. Because once you go in the Planet Fitness, you can't carry anything with you.'"

He maintains he didn't even know a protest was happening where they were headed.

"Not at all. I didn't know there's a protest at all. I was just trying to go to the gym," he said.

That same day, 29 others were arrested, including journalist Mario Guevara.

The charges against Guevarra have since been dropped, but he remains in ICE custody.

DeKalb County's response

The other side:

DeKalb’s Solicitor General said, "We investigate and review each matter on a case-by-case basis."

DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran Johnson said in an email largely defending the police response, her office’s internal review of police tactics will continue.

As of Thursday night, the charges against Edwards remained. 

Neither the CEO’s office nor DeKalb Police accepted multiple interview requests.

SEE ALSO: Journalist Mario Guevara’s charges dropped after anti-ICE protest arrest

 

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