A Clayton County, Georgia sheriff’s deputy has been fired after viral videos of him using excessive force on a black man - named Roderick Walker - set social media ablaze. Earlier reports suggested he was a Lyft passenger, but the company says the incident didn’t happen during a ride-share trip. All the deets inside…
As the country continues to protest against police brutality and racial injustice, incidents of violence are still happening and being recorded for the world to see.
Over the weekend, a video of an unarmed black man named Roderick Walker being physically attacked by two sheriff’s deputies in Clayton County, Georgia went viral. One of the deputies was fired Sunday (September 13th) for “excessive use of force” after he was showed repeatedly striking the 26-year-old man and injuring him as a woman (believed to be his girlfriend or cousin) and children (believed to be his kids) watched in horror.
“The Deputy who repeatedly struck Roderick Walker is being terminated from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office by order of Sheriff Victor Hill for excessive use of force,” the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Two officers were involved, but only one of them have been terminated at this time.
The shocking incident reportedly occurred outside of the Georgia Department of Public Health vital records near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Friday evening (September 11th). In the clip, you can see the two officers manhandling Roderick, pinning him down and placing him in the chokehold while Roderick struggled to breathe.
”He bit my hand,” one of the officers is heard saying.
“I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die. I can’t breathe,” Roderick is heard yelling as the officers continued to assault him, knocking him unconscious twice. You can see the incident in several videos below.
TRIGGER WARNING! The footage below may be graphic to most:
Here’s are a few different angles of the incident:
Shit like this still happens everywhere. This happened today in #Atlanta in #ClaytonCounty. There no reason they needed to handle this man like this at all. #Fuck12 #BLM #ChangeTheSystem pic.twitter.com/i7BarNkeI4
— Korey Epps (@HardKBBM) September 12, 2020
Another close-up video captures the violent interaction in Clayton Cty, Georgia. After the sheriffs finally pull the full weight of their bodies off the man, he appears barely conscious and bloody. Horrendous that a small child witnessed this close-up.pic.twitter.com/KSZKs7LqDF
— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) September 12, 2020
Before the deputy was fired, the Clayton County Police Department let the community know that they were aware of the incident and that an “internal investigation” had been launched:
The Clayton County Police Department is aware of the social media video depicting what appears to be Sheriff’s deputies...
Posted by Clayton County Police Department on Saturday, September 12, 2020
"The Clayton County Police Department is aware of the social media video depicting what appears to be Sheriff’s deputies appearing to use physical force against a male citizen. The deputies depicted in this video are not employed by the Clayton County Police Department,” the statement read.
”These deputies are employed by the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office is aware of the incident as well and have begun an internal investigation.”
It was initially reported Roderick Walker – a father of four – was a passenger using the ride-sharing car service Lyft along with a woman (believed to be his girlfriend or cousin). It’s alleged the driver was pulled over due to a tail light being out. Apparently, the driver didn’t have his driver’s license, so the cops started to question Roderick and the woman in the car with them, requesting them to show their IDs.
Roderick then questioned the officers why he needed to show his ID when he wasn’t driving and didn’t do anything wrong. The officers asked Roderick to step out of the car and that’s when all hell broke loose.
Lyft caught wind of the video and tweeted they were investigating. Later, they confirmed the incident did NOT occur “during a Lyft ride.” Peep their tweets below:
UPDATE: Thank you all for your active involvement. We confirmed this did not happen during a Lyft ride, but we unequivocally stand against racism and unnecessary use of force. We are in contact w/ @Georgia_NAACP to lend our support.
— Lyft (@lyft) September 12, 2020
”The incident depicted in this video is deeply disturbing. We’ve launched an investigation in an effort to identify and lend support to the rider and driver involved. If you have info that could help to determine who they are, please DM us.”
”UPDATE: Thank you all for your active involvement. We confirmed this did not happen during a Lyft ride, but we unequivocally stand against racism and unnecessary use of force. We are in contact w/ @Georgia_NAACP to lend our support.”
After the assault, Roderick Walker was charged with multiple counts of obstruction and battery in connection with the incident. He was beaten badly and he has the bruises to prove it:
Breaking!
Per Clayton County Sheriff’s Office:
”The Deputy who repeatedly struck Roderick Walker is being terminated from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office by order of Sheriff Victor Hill for excessive use of force.”@wsbtv pic.twitter.com/v9aDNfqCqg— Audrey Washington (@AudreyWSBTV) September 13, 2020
Heartbreaking.
Shean Williams – Roderick’s attorney – wants all the charges against his client to be dropped and he wants the deputies involved in the incident to be arrested and charged.
"The people that need to be in jail are the off that attacked him and violated his civil rights," Williams said. "It escalates to him being beaten to the ground, tased and almost dying... And they take him to jail."
Georgia NAACP Vice President Gerald Griggs also made demands for Roderick to be released:
The Attorneys for #RoderickWalker demands the release of Mr. Walker and issues the demands in the case. @CochranFirm_ATL. pic.twitter.com/BrByhuucP8
— Gerald A. Griggs (@AttorneyGriggs) September 13, 2020
Roderick is still behind bars because he allegedly has a felony probation warrant for cruelty to children filed in Fulton County. According to police, Roderick also had a warrant out due to alleged possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Fulton and a failure to appear warrant in Hapeville.
The Clayton County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement:
The Sheriff ordered a signature bond courtesy for Mr. Walker 48 hours ago. Unfortunately, Mr. Walker has a felony probation warrant out of Fulton County for Cruelty to Children, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and a Failure to Appear warrant out of Hapeville which resulted in Magistrate Court denying him a bond. Mr. Walker’s legal counsel will have to resolve these issues to secure his release.
Mr. Walker has received medical treatment to include x-rays (no fractures detected) of his head and is being monitored at the jail hospital by a doctor.
The Walker Family also demanded he be released on the charges they gave him from the beating incident:
Despite the charges Roderick Walker may have had against him before he was attacked by police, he didn't deserve to be beat unconscious (twice) for not showing his identification. Period. Reportedly, passengers in Georgia are not legally required to show identification. And if there's an exception to this rule, issuing a citation would have sufficed.
Photo: IG Screenshot
source: theybf
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