A Powder Springs woman is seeking more than $5 million from Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens and three of his deputies, claiming the deputies unlawfully entered her home, pointed a loaded gun at her head, handcuffed her and her children and broke her foot.
Nicole Buchanan, 52, filed a lawsuit in a Georgia federal court on Aug. 9 against Owens and the deputies, alleging excessive and unlawful use of force, aggravated assault and reckless conduct.
Buchanan claimed the deputies came to her home on the evening of March 10, 2022, saying they were serving an arrest warrant on her 20-year-old disabled son, Alexander Buchanan, who had been involved in a car crash days prior. The deputies refused to show Nicole Buchanan the warrant and then broke into her home through a garage door while she locked herself and her son in an upstairs bathroom, the complaint states.
An incident report from the sheriff’s office states that deputies unlocked the front door with a key they located outside the home.
Nicole Buchanan alleged that the deputies again refused to show her the warrant for her son, so she contacted the sheriff’s office while inside the bathroom. She claimed that a sheriff’s office representative told her that there was no active warrant for her son’s arrest.
A March 7, 2022 arrest warrant for Alexander Buchanan states that he was driving south on Mableton Parkway when he veered into an adjacent lane and struck another vehicle. He left the scene after giving the other motorist his insurance information, the warrant states.
Nicole Buchanan alleged that the deputies kicked in the bathroom door with guns drawn, handcuffed her and her son, then chased and handcuffed her two younger children. She alleged that one of the deputies pointed a loaded gun at her temple while she was handcuffed, though she hadn’t resisted arrest.
“He rationalized this behavior alleging that Ms. Buchanan and her son attempted to lunge at him during the arrest,” the lawsuit states.
The sheriff’s office said the deputies “executed a legal arrest warrant for Alexander Buchanan for a hit and run.”
“Nicole Buchanan, the mother of the wanted subject, attempted to obstruct the arrest of her son, including giving false information on his whereabouts,” the sheriff’s office said. “Subsequently, the sheriff’s office requested and received a warrant for her arrest for obstruction.”
A March 11, 2023 arrest warrant for Nicole Buchanan states that she told the deputies her son was not in the bathroom with her.
Nicole Buchanan claimed that after she and her children were escorted from the home in handcuffs, the deputy who had pointed his gun at her head lifted her off the ground and slammed her onto concrete.
“Unable to properly break her fall due to being handcuffed, plaintiff suffered a broken foot in three places and a damaged knee,” the lawsuit states. “Ms. Buchanan has undergone several procedures on her right foot and is scheduling knee surgery due to her injuries.”
One of the deputies called for an ambulance after Nicole Buchanan “complained of an injury to the top of her right foot,” the incident report states. It adds that Nicole Buchanan was transported to Cobb Hospital and that Alexander Buchanan was taken to the Cobb County Jail.
Nicole Buchanan claimed that she and her children suffered mental trauma from the incident and that her broken foot limited her ability to work. She alleged that Alexander Buchanan became paranoid. He died a couple of months after the incident, public records show. The cause of death isn’t listed.
“The siblings that remain are extremely fearful of any law enforcement and have anxiety from the memory of their mother being violated and assaulted by police,” the lawsuit states.
Court records show Alexander Buchanan was charged with aggravated assault in November 2020 and received treatment in a mental health facility as part of a bond agreement. He was released into his mother’s care and pleaded not guilty in February 2022, records show. Prosecutors dropped the case after his death.
Nicole Buchanan’s lawyer, Latrice Latin Alexander, said Alexander Buchanan’s death was not related to the deputies’ visit. She said she is reviewing body-worn camera footage from the incident.
Alexander said none of the Buchanan children were charged in relation to the deputies’ visit, and that prosecutors ultimately dismissed the obstruction case against Nicole Buchanan. She said Nicole Buchanan lodged a complaint about her arrest with the sheriff’s office in August 2022.
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