Photo Courtesy of Ciara Cummings of Atlanta News First / Twitter
South Fulton police arrested their mayor Saturday morning for allegedly trespassing on a private-owned lake house.
According to WSB-TV, the lake house owner received an alert notifying him that someone, laAtlanta ter revealed to be Mayor Khalid Kamau, had trespassed on his property on Cascade Palmetto Highway around 6:52 a.m.
The homeowner told police he got dressed and watched Kamau walk up his driveway to approach his property. Kamau managed to get inside the lake house, causing the homeowner to board his truck and call the police to report the incident.
The owner then approached the lake house cautiously because he couldn’t see what Kamau was doing inside the premises. When Kamau emerged from the lake house, the homeowner held the South Fulton Mayor at gunpoint and told him to “stay put” and wait for the police.
The homeowner yelled his command again at the mayor while on the phone with the dispatcher as Kamau attempted to walk away.
“No, motherf**ker, you stay right there.”
Kamau attempted to reveal several times to the homeowner that he was the mayor, but the man wasn’t having it and warned that he’d shoot if Kamau took another step.
“Do you know who the f**k I am? I’m the mayor, and I’ll wait for my police to get here and see what happens then,” Kamau reportedly told the unknown homeowner.
After police arrived, Mayor Kamau explained to police that on his way to the dog park, he stopped to admire the lake house he thought was abandoned, claiming it was his dream home and he wanted to purchase the property.
Kamau told police that he apologized to the man and introduced himself.
Kamau was arrested and charged with criminal trespass and first-degree burglary. Police booked him in the Fulton County jail. Subsequently, he was released on a $11,000 bond.
In a comment to Fox 5, Kamau clarified that he assumed the property was abandoned and apologized to the owners.
To his constituents, he stated, “I apologize for the negative attention this has brought to our city. But I hope that the spotlight that is on our city right now will highlight some of the inequities that have been happening.”
When asked if he was guilty of the charges, Kamau responded that it was up to the voters to decide.
The city released a statement following the news of Mayor Kamau’s arrest.
“The city of South Fulton is committed to upholding the law and ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their position, are subject to the same fair and just treatment. As the investigation is still ongoing, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”