A Georgia deputy was f!red on Sunday after video showed him repeatedly pu*ching a bla-ck man during a traffic stop as his girlfriend and his child scr*amed in te*ror.
The Clayton County Sheriff’s Office revealed in a statement that the unidentified deputy who b*at Rod-erick Walker was fi-red for ‘excessive use of fo*ce.’
‘The Deputy who repeatedly str-uck Rode-rick Walker is being terminated from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office by order of Sheriff Victor Hill for excessive use of fo*ce,’ the statement read.
‘The cr!minal investigation of this matter will be turned over to the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office.’Outr-age spa-rked on social media last week when video showed Walker, 26, being agg*essively arre-sted and be*ten by two Clayton County deputies.
Attorney Shean Williams said the incident began when deputies demanded to see Walker’s ID after he, his girlfriend, their five-month-old baby, and her son returned a rental vehicle. In one video, cell phone footage shows the two deputies p!nning Rod-erick to the pavement as one of his children and his girlfriend stand nearby.
‘He’s bl*eding,’ the woman sh*uts. Walker’s young son can be heard scr*aming and c*ying in the background. ‘Stop pu*ching him in the face!’The deputy cla!ms that Walker bit him in the hand, but this cannot be confirmed through footage. The two deputies exe-rt their body weight atop of Walker, who lying on the ground and saying, ‘I’m going to d!e. I can’t breathe!’ At this, Walker’s girlfriend scr*ams and pl*ads with deputies ‘not to k!ll him.’
Seconds later, one deputy pu*ches Walker in the head three times as his son calls for him in the background.Deputies then turn Walker onto his back, revealing bl*od on the face, and handc*ff him.As the girlfriend asks if Walker is okay, a third deputy tells her ‘to get in the car before you end up in handc*ffs.’A second version of the footage taken by a witness shows the deputy pu*ching Walker at least nine times.Walker was ultimately cha-rged with two counts of ba-ttery and two counts of obstr*cting or h!ndering law enforcement officers. There is not bond listed yet.
Torris Butterfield, an attorney hired to represent Walker, told CNN that he met with his client for two hours on Saturday and that he is working to secure a bond for release.In the statement, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office said the sheriff ordered a signature bond for Walker 48 hours ago but he has a fe*ony probation wa*rant.’Unfortunately, Mr. Walker has a fe*ony pro-bation wa*rant out of Fulton County for Cr*elty to Children, Possession of a Fi-rearm by a Conv!cted Fe*on, and a Fa!lure to Appear wa*rant out of Hapeville which resulted in Magistrate Court den*ing him a bond,’ it read.
‘Mr. Walker’s legal counsel will have to resolve these issues to secure his release.’ The statement added that Walker received medical treatment, including x-rays that found no fr*ctures, and he is being monitored at the ja!l hospital by a doctor.Attorney Shean Williams cond*mned the deputy’s ac-tions on Sunday in a statement.’My reaction to the video is that it just shows, unfortunately, another incident where an African American male’s civil rights have been v!olated by people and officers and law enfo-rcement who have the duty first to protect and serve,’ said Williams.
Williams said the family had approached an idle rideshare vehicle after dropping off their rental car.They neg-otiated a price with the driver, who was off-duty at the time, to give them a ride down the street.But on the way, the vehicle was pu-lled over for what Williams said was a tail-light v!olation.Deputies demanded that Walker, who was a passenger, provide his ID but he did not have it with him.According to Williams, Walker asked why deputies needed to see his ID since he was not driving the vehicle, and this upset them.
Walker told deputies that he had not done anything wrong, but deputies asked that he exit the vehicle. That’s when the excessive fo-rce began, Williams said.Williams said Walker lost consc-iousness at least twice during the be-ating.Several social media posts cla-imed that the incident specifically involved a Ly-ft passenger, but the company said on Twitter said that was incorrect.’We’ve been made aware of a d!sturbing incident in Georgia,’ the company wrote. ‘While we confirmed this did not happen during a Ly-ft ride, we unequ!vocally stand aga!nst rac!sm and unnecessary use of fo-rce.’
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation told CNN that they have not yet gotten a request to launch an investigation into the matter.The Georgia NAACP told the publication via email that they were ‘calling for the resignation of Sheriff Victor Hill, the termination of the two officers involved, and all cha-rges to be dropped by the Clayton County District Attorney, Tasha Mosley.’Gerald Griggs, an attorney for the NAACP Georgia, said during a press conference: ‘It’s time for the law to work for brown and Bla-ck citizens the way it works for White citizens,’
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