"Baton Bob" Files Federal Lawsuit Against Atlanta PD for Midtown Arrest

The Atlanta street performer who was arrested in 2013 and allegedly released only after he allowed officers to post a statement on his personal Facebook page praising Atlanta police’s handling of the situation is suing the department in federal court.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ”Baton Bob” is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages from the Atlanta Police Department for the way he was treated during his arrest and detention. The department told the AJC that it had not been served with the suit as of Monday, but did not publicly comment on the previous suit filed by the performer in June of last year.

“Baton Bob,” whose real name is Bob Jamerson, was arrested in Midtown on June 26, 2013 while he was celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court’s lifting of the federal ban on same sex marriage outside Colony Square. Jamerson, a flamboyant street performer, can usually be found in Atlanta dressed in a tutu and twirling his trademark baton.

On that day in June, police arrested Jamerson, then wearing a wedding dress, and Fulton County jail records show he was charged with simple assault and obstructing a police officer.

Jamerson’s lawsuit, which was filed in federal court last week, claims that after the AJC published a report on Jamerson’s arrest, a police lieutenant told the handcuffed man that he would be released on a signature bond if he allowed officers to log into his “Baton Bob” Facebook account and post a positive message about the department’s handling of his arrest. An officer logged into the account while the lieutenant watched, the lawsuit claims.

After the APD completed an internal investigation of the incident, the lieutenant was given a five-day suspension, the AJC said. The officer who wrote the post was given a one day suspension. The officer later resigned from the force. Charges against Jamerson were dropped in December of 2014.