A Georgia grand jury has charged five law enforcement officers with the 2019 death of a naked man pressed to the ground outside a music festival, a prosecutor says.
The Henry County Grand Jury on Friday (November 19) dismissed the charges, which include several charges, including murder, after hearing testimony for two days, Henry County Assistant District Attorney Megan Matteucci said.
Arrest warrants will be issued for the officers next week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. It was not known whether the officers had lawyers to speak for them.
The charges stem from an incident outside Atlanta Motor Speedway in September 2019 when the Imagine Music Festival was held, Matteucci said in a press release.
Fernando Rodriguez, 24, died of asphyxiation after being handcuffed and pushed to the floor while officers waited for an ambulance, Matteucci said.
Henry County Police Officers Robert Butera and Quinton Phillips, as well as Hampton Mason Lewis Police officers, Marcus Stroud and Gregory Bowlden, have each been charged with willful intent, double crime and aggravated assault, Matteucci said. In addition, each officer was charged with violating his or her oath of office.
The incident began when an 911 operator reported a naked man walking outside the festival, the newspaper previously reported. Body camera footage shows the man, later identified as Rodriguez, in the middle of the street, confused and uncooperative but not combative.
The officers yelled at him to stop, and when Rodriguez moved on, one of the officers drugged him with a taser, the footage showed. Rodriguez then fell on his back in the street. The footage also showed officers repeatedly telling him to turn around and stun Rodriguez several more times if he didn’t comply.
The officers eventually forced him to turn and several officers kneeled on his arms, neck, and back to restrain him, according to the authorities.
An unjustified death penalty lawsuit filed by Rodriguez’s family alleges that instead of continuing to detain him, officers should have provided medical assistance. Instead, they waited for an ambulance to arrive, the lawsuit said.
Rodriguez’s family eventually accepted a $ 3 million settlement from the Hampton Police Department. The family are still pursuing legal action against the Henry County Police Department, the newspaper reported.
Rodriguez died in a hospital two days after the incident. His death was classified as a homicide by a coroner.
