Use of force by a Georgia state police officer who appeared to step on a suspect during an arrest is currently under investigation, the state’s Department of Public Security said. The video of the incident quickly went viral and sparked a debate on social media.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) said Oct. 3 that a Georgia State Patrol soldier conducted a traffic check because the driver was not wearing a seat belt.
The driver identified as Jamarco Lucas initially stopped, but then fled traffic control and started a chase, DPS said in a statement to CBS News.
The soldier followed Lucas, who exited his vehicle with his right hand tucked into his waistband, and the soldier later saw a gun fall from his pants, officials said.
While following on foot, the soldier used his taser twice and met Lucas once. When Lucas fell to the ground, he neither showed his hands nor followed the verbal commands of the soldier, says DPS.
The video, originally posted on Twitter by Atlanta Uncensored, shows Lucas on the ground. The soldier hits Lucas twice in the foot, pulls him across a sidewalk, and puts his knee on him while he is handcuffed.
That can’t be real pic.twitter.com/EclvJFwj1L
– ATL uncensored | Atlanta News (@ATLUncensored) October 3, 2021
DPS said the soldier did not know if Lucas was still armed and that he was maneuvering as if trying to get up.
“The trooper kicked the driver’s core and then hit the driver’s right area, which appeared to be in the waistband,” the DPS statement said. “When the trooper realized the driver had no gun, he took the driver into custody.”
The video also shows the soldier telling a woman to withdraw if she approaches during arrest. DPS said the soldier observed a pistol lying on the sidewalk between his location and bystanders.
The story goes on
According to the DPS guideline, “all cases of use of force are documented and checked by the respective chain of command of an employee,” said the agency in its statement.
Lucas is currently on parole for assault and has an active warrant in Rockdale County for simple battery, according to DPS.
The 27-year-old is now charged with fleeing or attempting to escape; Obstruction of a law enforcement officer; Possession of a firearm with a changed serial number; reckless driving; Over speeding; improper lane change; Failure to observe a traffic control device; Driving without a license; and no seat belt. He was released to Fulton County Jail.
The video received a lot of attention on the internet and sparked a debate about the use of force by the police. An Atlanta mayoral candidate even posted the clip on Twitter and Instagram. In his caption, Antonio Brown wrote, “This is totally unacceptable and we must hold our police accountable as well as those who break the law in our city and state.”
Brown, who is currently on the city council, said the “officer must be held accountable, this man is unarmed and as a police officer you should be trained to avoid de-escalating using excessive force.”
“Crazy how we can talk about putting more officers on the streets of Atlanta when our police are stomping people from A-Town out here,” he said. Brown says he still stands behind his comments after DPS’s official statement was released, CBS subsidiary WGCL reported.
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