Two Atlanta policemen who were fired after the cameras showed that they were pulling two black students out of a car and using stun guns during last summer’s protests and recovering their jobs.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the city’s Civil Service Council had reversed the layoffs.
But “given the turmoil in our city and nation at the time, and the disturbing video images before us, I still believe that the right decision was made”.
The council concluded that the firings of the two policemen, Ivory Streeter and Mark Gardner, violated the laws and policies of the city and the police department about due process, according to law enforcement attorney Lance J. LoRusso.
The city did not conduct an investigation through the Office of Professional Standards prior to the June 1 resignations, which is mandatory, LoRusso told NBC News.
The camera video taken during the protests after George Floyd’s death last May showed police officers forcibly removing two college students, Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim, from their car. Pilgrim was heard asking what’s going on and crying because she was trying to get out of the car before she was apparently hit by electric current from a stun gun.
Pilgrim, a student at Spelman College, was not charged. Young, a student at Morehouse College, faced unspecified charges that were later dropped.
Streeter and Gardner were among six accused police officers and four fired in connection with the incident, which Bottoms called “disturbing on many levels”.
Bottoms announced the dismissals of Streeter and Gardner almost immediately after what she called “excessive use of force”.
The two police officers later filed for reinstatement and late payment, saying they were denied due process and that “the use of force was appropriate and in accordance with the law, Atlanta Police Department policies, standards law enforcement agencies and the training provided to them through the Atlanta City Police Department and the State of Georgia. “
They also stated that they were fired without investigation, notice or pre-disciplinary hearing and that the layoffs were against the city code.
During council hearings on the officers’ firing, “evidence emerged that both officers had reason to believe, and did believe, that there was a gun in the vehicle,” said LoRusso.
No weapons were found.
Streeter and Gardner served as investigators at the Atlanta Police Department’s fugitive unit and helped with civil unrest in the city, police said.
Streeter worked in the department for 16 years and Gardner for 22, police said.
The two policemen still face charges of aggravated assault.
Bottoms said on Tuesday that the Civil Service Council “did not say that the conduct of officers was legal”.
“This incident, and others, resulted in changes in our force use policy, including scaling down training and guidance on when and how to intervene in specific situations,” said Bottoms. “It is my sincere hope that these policy changes and additional training for our officers will help to eliminate the potentially fatal and fatal encounters that have taken place in the past.”
The charges were sent from the district attorney to the Georgia attorney general due to a conflict, according to a letter dated 25 January from the prosecutor’s office. The attorney general will appoint a substitute attorney.
No police officer can appear in full duty until criminal cases are resolved against them, said LoRusso. Once they return to work, they will be entitled to late payment and all accumulated licenses, he said.
