Oakland Cemetery incident: Police release bodycam of officer responding to fight

ATLANTA – Atlanta police released bodycam video of an officer responding to a heated argument between an Atlanta City Council member and a security guard at Oakland Cemetery in southeast Atlanta.

It happened just after 8:30 p.m. on October 4th. The park’s opening times are from morning to evening. According to the police report, upon arrival, the officer spoke with security guard Antony Montfort, who explained that he had approached a group of women in the cemetery after hearing voices. Montfort, who said he didn’t have a flashlight because of the darkness, reported seeing lights and shouting, “Pack it up, pack it up!” It’s time to go.” According to Montfort, Councilwoman Liliana Bakhtiari approached him, put her hand on his face and eventually pushed him to the ground. Montfort also claimed that Bakhtiari took off his hat and hit him in the forehead, but refused to provide medical attention and not press charges.

Another security officer confirmed parts of Montfort’s account, stating that Montfort repeatedly told them to leave as they approached the group. He said Bakhtiari and Montfort began exchanging words, after which Bakhtiari pushed Montfort and her friends intervened.

Montfort’s supervisor was not on site but was on the phone during the incident. He stated that he heard women screaming that they had permission to be there. Reed also mentioned that Montfort was upset, which led him to contact the cemetery’s executive director, who confirmed that Bakhtiari had permission to attend an engagement party.

Friends of Bakhtiari, who were part of the group celebrating a marriage proposal, said they organized a picnic at the cemetery and took photos of the sunset. As they were packing up, they heard screaming and saw a man aggressively approaching them with a lit cigarette. The man, later identified as Montfort, reportedly asked her to leave in a confrontational manner. Bakhtiari stepped forward to tell him they were leaving, but the situation escalated when Montfort allegedly blocked their path. They told police Bakhtiari was burned by Montfort’s cigarette during the exchange.

Bakhtiari said in her statement to police that she was afraid of Montfort’s aggressive behavior and could not say whether he had a weapon in his hand. She claimed she pushed him to protect her friends and that the second security guard later helped them leave the cemetery.

In a statement released on Friday, Bakhtiari wrote, among other things:

“My friends and I were approached in the dark by an aggressive and unknown man. I became scared and felt in danger. ”

No charges have been filed and police continue to investigate the incident.