Jonathan Richard Sagers, a volunteer coach at Old National Park, has been charged by the South Fulton Police Department after a 12-year-old child was injured and airlifted to the hospital on the night of September 8.
According to WRDW 12, the youth football coach faces a felony charge of first-degree cruelty to children and a misdemeanor battery charge following an incident that occurred during practice this week.
Cedric Alexander, the interim managing director of South Fulton Public Safety, said during a press conference on September 11 that 911 dispatch was contacted at 7:43 p.m. on Monday concerning a 12-year-old boy who seemed unresponsive at the park.
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Alexander said the child was taken by air to the Arthur M. Blank Hospital of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where he received treatment and was discharged that same night “with no major injuries.”
Alexander emphasized that Sagers works as a volunteer coach for the Old National Youth Athletic Association, which has a contract with the city to use Old National Park, and is not employed by South Fulton.
According to him, Sagers passed a background investigation in July before joining the team.
Although Alexander urged parents to let their children engage in youth sports leagues, he cautioned them “to know the coaches, know the teams, know the volunteers, know those people who are in and around your children.”
According to Alexander, Sagers admitted to having a “verbal and physical altercation” with the child, which led to his arrest by the police. According to a South Fulton police incident report, Sagers initially told officers he was showing the boy a technique in which he “grabbed his shoulder pads and threw him to the ground.”
The boy then got up, left, and went on practicing with the other children, Sager added, according to the police report. However, a witness informed authorities that the boy “lost consciousness as a result of the impact.”
According to another team member, Sagers and the boy “exchanged words and began arguing with each other” as they were practicing plays for a game. The boy started to leave, but Sagers allegedly “grabbed him by the shoulder pads and threw him down on the ground.” The witness claimed Sagers then “began taunting” the child while he was on the ground.
The officer who submitted the report noticed the child lying in the back of a pickup truck, with Grady EMS and South Fulton firefighters providing aid. Two bystanders informed the officer that they had earlier observed the youngster lying unconscious in the back of the truck. They said they gave the boy a sternum rub, but he remained unresponsive.
“Who does that? We’re really trying to figure out who in their right mind would want to harm a child,” community advocate Jill Lindsey said. “No matter what the child does, it is still not your right to touch a child as a coach in a park.”
Tony Davis, a volunteer coach who also contributes in managing the Old National Knights youth football program as a whole, gave WRDW an update on the child’s health.
“He’s not 100% yet, but he’s up and running,” said Davis. “He’s able to talk to his parents. They’re blessed to know that they can hear from him and he can walk to them. He can hug them.”
Authorities discovered throughout the investigations that Sagers had arrest warrants from Atlanta police for various charges, including possession of drugs, obstruction of officers and driving on a suspended license, related to an incident on August 29.
Sagers was arrested and brought to the Fulton County Jail on those counts.
Investigators spent the night and early morning questioning him about the dispute with the child. The results led them to obtain warrants for the charges of violence and child cruelty.
