ATLANTA — A local radio producer from Hot 107.9 has filed a civil lawsuit against a former Atlanta officer after she alleged he tased her during a routine traffic stop in 2018.
According to the lawsuit, Qri Montague, a producer at the station, was pulled over by former Officer Lemuel Gardner for a traffic violation around 10:48 p.m. on Oct. 7.
The lawsuit details they were both on I-20 westbound and Gardner stopped Montague's car as she got off the highway at Exit 54 near Langhorn Street.
The document says Gardner ordered Montague to get out of the vehicle. According to her lawsuit, Montague came out with her hands clearly raised and she was immediately placed in handcuffs. She asked why she was being handcuffed and the officer directed her to provide her license -- which he grabbed from her fanny pack placed across her shoulder. At that time, she alleges the former officer told her to sit on the sidewalk, and she declined to "sit in the dirt, wanting to be visible to other drivers, and uncertain why she had been handcuffed in the first place, the motorist instead sat on the rear of her own vehicle."
Some point later, the lawsuit alleges that Gardner told Montague to sit in the back seat of his patrol car.
"Apparently dissatisfied with the pace at which the motorist was entering the back seat of his patrol car Defendant Gardner removed his Taser and pointed it at the motorist," Montague's lawsuit alleges.
Montague said he tased her on the upper thigh and, when she complained, said: "Well, you're lucky I didn't do more to you."
She then alleges that he issued four traffic violations: failure to signal, improper lane change, driving too fast for conditions and reckless driving.
"Then, Defendant Gardner announced to the motorist that she was lucky, as he was going to allow her to leave, implying that she would not be taken to jail," Montague said in a lawsuit.
Montague contacted the City of Atlanta Police Department to report that she had been tased by Gardner. APD took a photo of the mark where she claimed she was tased by the officer.
Gardner was relieved of duty and suspended with pay on Oct. 16. The next day, he provided his formal statement to the City of Atlanta on the incident (10 days after the stop).
He said he did not tase Montague and the injuries on her thigh must've happened before he stopped her, according to her lawsuit. He also said that his body camera was on but that it was in "buffer mode" so his interaction was not recorded.
The lawsuit says that Gardner "abruptly" stated that he didn't want to answer any more questions about the incident.
"As abruptly as he announced an intention to terminate his participation in the formal complaint interview process, Defendant Gardner abruptly announced that he was resigning from the Atlanta Police Department, effective immediately," the lawsuit states.
He submitted his formal letter to the department on Oct. 17, 2018.
An APD investigation found that his taser was used several times during his traffic stop with Montague while she was handcuffed, despite what he said. The lawsuit claims that Gardner used the taser in drive stun mode.
"Drive stun mode means that a Taser is deployed by being held against the target without firing the projectiles, and is intended to cause pain without incapacitating the target. The formal APD investigation found that Defendant Gardner applied his Taser to Ms. Montague’s left upper thigh while it was in drive stun mode, contrary to his contention that he did not use his Taser on Ms. Montague," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit was filed last week in Fulton County, demanding a jury trial. It's not clear when the matter will proceed before the court.
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