The city of Atlanta has agreed to pay almost $1 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a North Carolina man shot by an off-duty police officer five years ago outside the former Georgia Dome.
Noel Hall was shot by former Atlanta Police Sgt. Mathieu Cadeau, who was directing traffic in an off-duty capacity after a motocross event, investigators said.
On Feb. 25, 2017, Hall and his wife traveled to Georgia to see their son participate in the Atlanta Supercross, one of the last events held at the old stadium. As Hall was leaving the motorcycle competition, he encountered Cadeau working security in the area.
According to investigators, Cadeau told Hall he couldn’t make a left turn onto Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard because of the traffic flow. But Hall explained he needed to pick up his son’s motorcycle.
After a “brief discussion,” the frustrated tourist decided to make the turn anyway, prosecutors said previously. That’s when Cadeau fired into the van, striking Hall and narrowly missing his wife, the couple’s attorney said.
A bullet entered Hall’s arm and exited his chest, just missing his heart.
He was treated at Grady Memorial Hospital and released the following morning. But Hall, a former college football player who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder since being shot.
Cadeau later pleaded guilty to his role in the shooting and was sentenced in early 2020 to 30 years of probation. The Fulton County judge who accepted his plea deal was Shawn Ellen LaGrua, who now serves on the Georgia Supreme Court.
“He gets to live his life, 30 years on probation, which in my opinion is a smack on the hand,” Hall fumed after Cadeau was sentenced. “And I get to live the rest of my life having to deal with this daily.”
On Monday, council members voted unanimously to pay nearly $999,000 to settle the lawsuit brought by Hall and his attorneys. The suit named as defendants Cadeau, the city and former police Chief George Turner.
Attorney Shean Williams, who represents Hall and his wife Christie, said he is glad city officials decided to pay up.
“It acknowledges what we have been saying since the beginning of this case, which is that Mr. Hall and his wife had their civil rights violated,” Williams said. “The officer had no legal justification to shoot at him. His life was not in danger. No one else’s life was in danger.”
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In March 2018, records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed a supervisor had recommended Cadeau be fired for a previous incident where he provided false statements about his actions during a bar fight. Cadeau was allowed to keep his job until May 2018, when he was fired from the department.
He was indicted five months later on charges of aggravated assault and reckless conduct, as well as two counts of violation of oath.
“This has been very traumatic for this family, not only physically but emotionally,” Williams said Monday. “Instead of a nice weekend in Atlanta, this almost ended in a tragic loss of life.”
— Staff writers J.D. Capelouto and Alexis Stevens contributed to this article.
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