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Written by: E. George
Published January 1, 2024 @ 5:30 PM ET
PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. – On December 12, 2023, Paulding County Sheriff’s officers arrested a Marietta man, Maurice Tirrell Manigault, for entering a public elementary school bus and yelling at the juvenile students for bullying his son. On September 20, 2023, a student on the bus told the suspect’s son “that if he didn’t give him snacks, then he would beat him up, and he would bring a gun.”
A Paulding County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at Nebo Elementary School in Dallas, Georgia, to interview the principal and student witnesses the following day. The principal explained that Manigault boarded the bus earlier that morning with his son and disregarded the driver’s comment that “he can’t be on the bus” by saying, “I don’t care.”
Manigault instructed his son “to show him the students that were picking on him.” Security footage from the bus reveals Manigault yelling at students seated at the rear, then walking to the front.
He “turned around and told all the students on the bus [that] if anyone else messed with his son, he would come back on the bus, and they would have to deal with him personally.” The principal told the deputy, “Several of the students were crying and very upset” when they arrived at the school.
The deputy spoke with student witnesses of the incident, who “stated they were scared, sad, and uncomfortable.”
Manigault faces charges of disrupting public schools and misdemeanor disorderly conduct – fear of the safety of life, limb, or health. This case is pending in court.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On 09/21/2023 at approximately 0730 hours Reporting Deputy First Class (R/D) Vida Davis Badge #673 was performing her official duties for the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Division located at 180 Constitution Blvd., Dallas, GA 30132 in Paulding County, Georgia. R/D received a report of a parent boarding a school bus at Nebo Elementary School located at 2843 Nebo Road, Dallas, GA 30157 in Paulding County, Georgia.
R/D met with Principle [REDACTED] when she arrived at Nebo Elementary School. Mr. [REDACTED] told R/D that on the afternoon bus route on 09/20/2023 Juvenile Witness [WITNESS #1] had given a female student some of his extra snack. Juvenile Witness [WITNESS #2] told Juvenile Witness [WITNESS #1] that if he didn’t give him the snacks then he would beat him up and he would bring a gun. On 09/21/2023 when Juvenile Witness [WITNESS #1] was picked up by the bus #[REDACTED], he boarded the bus and his father, identified as Maurice Tirelle Manigault, also stepped on the bus. The bus driver, identified as [WITNESS #3] informed Mr. Manigault that he can’t be on the bus. Mr. Manigault responded that he didn’t care and told Juvenile Witness [WITNESS #1] to show him the students that were picking on him.
Mr. Manigault is seen on the bus video walking to the back of the bus and began yelling at students. After Mr. Manigault finished yelling at the students in the back of the bus he started walking toward the front of the bus. Then Mr. Manigault turned around and told all the students on the bus if anyone else messed with his son he would come back on the bus and they would have to deal with him personally. Mr. [REDACTED] also told R/D that when the bus arrived several of the students were crying and very upset.
On 09/22/2023 at approximately 0730 R/D returned to Nebo Elementary School. With Mr. [REDACTED] present, R/D recorded by body camera several students explaining how they felt when Mr. Manigault boarded the bus and started yelling. The students stated they were scared, sad and uncomfortable.
On 09/22/2023 R/D had a phone conversation, that was recorded with her body camera, with the bus driver, Mr. [WITNESS #3]. Mr. [WITNESS #3] had written a statement, but R/D wanted to find out if Mr. Manigault had said any curse words during the incident or made any threats to him. Mr. [WITNESS #3] told R/D that he didn’t hear any curse words, but he was trying to watch Mr. Manigault in the mirror and talking on the radio. Mr. [WITNESS #3] also told R/D that he didn’t approach Mr. Manigault because he didn’t want to make the situation worse, but he would not have allowed Mr. Manigault to touch any of the students.
After watching the bus video and listening to the witnesses R/D secured warrants for Mr. Manigault’s arrest for the following charges: GA O.C.G.A. 20-2-1181 Disruption/Public/Schools a Misdemeanor (1 count); GA O.C.G.A. 16-11-39(a)(1) Disorderly Conduct a Misdemeanor (1 count). On 09/22/2023 Judge Lisa Baty signed warrant #23-2757 Disruption/Public/Schools and warrant #23-2758 Disorderly Conduct. R/D delivered the signed warrants to the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division on 09/22/2023.
R/D submitted the statements to the Paulding County Juvenile Division to be attached to this report under Case #202309220035. R/D made contact with witnesses so her issued body worn camera was activated. R/D submitted (3) DVD recordings into the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Evidence room under Case #202309220035. R/D didn’t receive any reports of injuries from this incident.
[End of Narrative]