Atlanta Police Fire 2 More Officers In Yanking Students From Car: Report

TOPLINE

Two more Atlanta police officers who were involved with violently yanking two college students out of a car during a protest on May 30—even though the students didn’t appear to be aggressive toward police—have been fired, according to a report.

KEY FACTS

KEY BACKGROUND

May 30 was the sixth day of protests following the death of George Floyd that turned into one of the most violent nights since Floyd’s death, with violent clashes between protesters and police and looting seen in cities around the country, including Atlanta. But the two college students didn’t seem to be contributing to any of the unrest.

Though Shields initially expected a review of body camera footage would exonerate officers in the case, she instead said looking at the video was “really shocking to watch.”

TANGENT

The Fulton County DA’s move to charge the officers has sparked a bit of a public feud between Shields and the DA, after Shields sent out an email to employees suggesting that the charges were “political jockeying” since the DA was looking at a competitive race in the Democratic primary, while also saying that the two officers fired May 31 are “good people and good cops.”

In a statement to Forbes, DA Paul Howard denied any sort of political motivation behind bringing charges, saying “My office does not have a separate standard for police officers and another standard for the public.”

Howard finished in second place in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, a poor showing for an incumbent heading into a runoff.

FURTHER READING

2 more Atlanta officers fired after students pulled from car (Associated Press)

Atlanta Mayor Fires 2 Officers Who Tased Man In ‘Shocking’ Video (Forbes)

Report: Officers Who Yanked Atlanta Couple From Car Are ‘Good Cops,’ Police Chief Says (Forbes)

Atlanta Officers Fired For Excessive Force Sue To Get Jobs Back (Forbes)