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Weaver, who had spent nearly three decades serving the county, said he regrets losing his job but stands firmly behind his actions.
“There were women and children in the bathroom when he was in there,” Weaver said. “If I was a father, and I had my daughter going to the bathroom, and I’m waiting for her to come out and this dude comes walking into the bathroom – there would have been an issue.”
He also pushed back on media portrayals that branded him as anti trans, saying the narrative ignored the women who were clearly uncomfortable.
“Cops are supposed to have tough skin, right?” he said. “But I don’t like being accused on nationwide TV of false accusations.”
Weaver described his interaction with Swinton as calm and professional, rejecting claims that he was aggressive or confrontational.
Internal Affairs documents appear to back up concerns raised by library patrons. DeKalb County Library Security Officer Victor Reed told investigators that after Swinton entered the restroom, a woman exited shaking her head. Shortly after, the mother with two children came out visibly upset.
“She had a look on her face like something was wrong,” Reed said. “She stated that, ‘How can we allow men to go into a women’s restroom?’”
Reed added that another woman left the building in frustration.
“The lady mumbled something under her breath and just dashed out the door,” he told investigators. “She was (angry).”
Despite these accounts, library policy allows individuals to use whichever restroom they choose. While Georgia passed a law in 2023 requiring sex separated bathrooms in schools, that law does not apply to public libraries.
Beth Parlato, senior attorney for the Independent Women’s Law Center, argued that Weaver did exactly what law enforcement officers are expected to do.
“Weaver did the right thing – he stood up for truth, he stood up for reality, he stood up for common sense,” Parlato said.
“And the rest of these people are standing behind this stupid ordinance to protect a person who has no business being in a girls’ bathroom,” she added.
Swinton, however, denied knowing that a woman had complained about his presence.
“Nobody ever told me that, in the entire extent of this investigation,” Swinson said. “That’s the basic problem right there, is they’re viewing me as a male when I’m not, for all intents and purposes.”
Weaver believes the outcome was predetermined once politics entered the equation. He said recommendations to fire him came from Major Theodore Golden, Assistant Chief Lonzy Robertson, and Police Chief Greg Padrick.
“Because we’re in a woke type of environment, this came from up top,” Weaver said. “They just wanted for me to just go away.”
At 70 years old, Weaver had served DeKalb County for 28 years before transitioning into the department’s reserve and retired officers program. His dismissal has sparked renewed debate over public safety, parental concerns, and whether law enforcement officers are now expected to prioritize ideology over common sense.
For many critics, the case represents a chilling warning to police nationwide. Speak plainly, protect women and children, and you may be next.
