Gwinnett County

Video shows police officer talking on phone while directing traffic at school

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County mom said she could not believe her eyes when she saw an officer using the phone while directing traffic.

She sent Channel 2 Action News of the video to prove it.

It all happened in front of Trickum Middle School on May 1, and you can clearly see the officer talking on his phone all while school buses passed by.

“When I looked up he was on the phone,” said mother Stacey Hicks.

Hicks said as soon as she saw it, she stopped her truck, took out her phone and started recording.

In the video, you can see an officer on his cell phone while directing traffic outside of the school.

“And he really wasn’t paying as much attention to directing traffic as he was with his phone conversation,” Hicks said.

Once Channel 2's Audrey Washington got her hands on the video, she showed it to Gwinnett County schools. But district officials didn't recognize the officer.

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So then she showed it to the Lilburn police department and the captain knew exactly who the officer was.

“Were quite embarrassed by it obviously, that is not the sort of activity an officer should be engaging in while directing traffic and were taking measures to deal with,” said Lilburn Capt. Scott Bennett.

Hicks said she hopes officers will pay closer attention to the school kids in the future.

“Make sure that officer is doing what he’s supposed to do, and not being distracted,” Hicks said.

Police would not detail how they plan to discipline the officer