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It’s been over a year and a half, but there is now an official response to the alleged altercation between two LaGrange City Councilmen.

In September 2023, LaGrange City Councilmen Leon Childs and Nathan Gaskin were reported to have been involved in a dispute during a closed-to-the-public executive session of the council. Allegations were made that the councilmen had been in an altercation, which was reported to the police. 

As is LaGrange Police Department policy, the case was referred to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation due to the incident involving elected city officials.

On Tuesday, a letter was released from Coweta Circuit District Attorney Herb Cranford announcing the case was closed due to the incident not rising to the level of a crime that could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 

In the letter sent to the GBI, Cranford said that he does not intend to press charges against either council member.

“I have now completed a review of this investigation, and I have determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Leon Childs or Nathan Gaskin committed a crime regarding their altercation on September 12, 2023,” Cranford said.

Several city officials witnessed the incident and were interviewed, including then City Manager Meg Kelsey, Assistant City Manager Bill Bulloch, City Planner Mark Kostial, the late Mayor W.T. Edmondson, City Attorney Jeff Todd and the members of the City Council.

According to GBI Special Agent Marc Griffith, the evidence revealed that before the meeting began, Councilman Gaskin and Councilman Childs engaged in a verbal exchange that escalated and had to be diffused by then-Councilman Jim Arrington and Mayor Edmondson. The interaction reportedly began when Gaskin declined to shake Childs’ hand because Gaskin said that Childs had declined to acknowledge his presence in a prior interaction in public. 

Childs and Gaskin then essentially exchanged fighting words about their mutual willingness to resolve their differences physically if necessary, the letter said.

“As they exchanged words from opposite sides of the table, the two councilmen walked toward the end of the table where Councilman Arrington was sitting. When they reached the end of the table, Arrington stood up between the councilmen and de-escalated their interaction with helpful words from Mayor Edmondson. Everyone then sat down and conducted the executive session meeting without further incident,” Cranford said. 

During the altercation, Gaskin and Childs approached each other with Arrington between the two. Childs reportedly took his pocket knife in his right hand, opened the blade, and held the blade next to his right leg, according to the letter.

Witnesses say Childs did not raise the blade or threaten Gaskin with it, but one witness clearly stated they saw the knife with the blade out and another saw a black object in Childs’s hand and heard a click sound. Others reported only seeing Childs holding his hand next to his leg. 

The district attorney said Childs acknowledged to the GBI that he was holding his knife in his right hand next to his leg but stated he could not recall if he pulled out the blade. Councilman Gaskin and Arrington said they did not see a knife at all during the interaction.

Cranford noted that according to their driver’s licenses, Childs is 5’9″ and 202 pounds, and Gaskin is 6’4″ and 298 pounds.

“When a defendant presents evidence of self-defense, the state bears the burden of disproving that defense beyond a reasonable doubt,” Cranfored said.  

“In short, there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Councilman Childs committed the crime of Aggravated Assault with a knife, particularly given the fact that the State would bear the burden of disproving beyond a reasonable doubt [Childs’] claim that he pulled his knife in anticipation of defending himself. There is no evidence that Councilman Childs attempted to injure Councilman Gaskin with the knife and because Councilman Gaskin never saw the knife, there is no evidence that he was in apprehension of receiving a violent injury,” Cranford said.

Charges of misdemeanor terroristic threats were also considered for both councilmen, but Cranford said there isn’t enough evidence due to there not being enough clarity about who said what and who is responsible for the escalation of the interaction. 

Cranford said he considers the case closed but noted if either councilman has any potentially criminal interaction with the other in the future, the incident will be relevant evidence. 

When asked if he feels like the report puts the incident behind him, Childs said he feels vindicated.

“I do feel like it put the whole incident behind me,” Childs said. “I felt like that my name was being dragged through the mud for political reasons, and that now I feel that I have been vindicated and I’m ready to work even harder for the people.”

Gaskin disagreed with the decision not to pursue charges.

“I respect the district attorney’s decision. I don’t agree with it, but I respect it,” Gaskin said.  “A large black man can never be the victim. [We’re] always seen as the aggressor, as the assailant. But this report where I’m the victim, you got to draw blood in order to get a conviction.”