Georgia Deputy Fired For Unjustly Assaulting Black Man on Video

Roderick Walker

[Roderick Walker]
The Guardian: “Roderick Walker, 26, was arrested and beaten on Friday, after deputies pulled over the vehicle he was riding in with his girlfriend, their five-month-old child and his stepson for an alleged broken taillight.”
Photo: Twitter

A sheriff’s deputy in Georgia has been fired after being captured on video repeatedly punching Roderick Walker during a traffic stop, authorities said on Sunday.

The deputy was fired for “excessive use of force”, the Clayton county sheriff’s office said. It did not identify the deputy, but said a criminal investigation had been turned over to the district attorney.

Roderick Walker, 26, was arrested and beaten on Friday, after deputies pulled over the vehicle he was riding in with his girlfriend, their five-month-old child and his stepson for an alleged broken taillight, attorney Shean Williams said on Sunday.

The deputies asked for identification, Williams said, then demanded Walker get out of the vehicle when he questioned why they needed it since he wasn’t driving.

The subsequent arrest, captured on video by a bystander and shared widely, shows two deputies on top of Walker, one repeatedly punching him. Walker’s girlfriend screams and tells the deputies Walker said he can’t breathe. A child in the vehicle yells: “Daddy.”

As Walker is handcuffed, the deputy who punched him tells the bystander Walker bit him. Williams said his client denies biting the deputy.

Walker was trying to survive and lost consciousness at least twice during the beating, Williams said. A photo of Walker taken in jail showed a welt under his left eye.

“My reaction to the video is that it just shows unfortunately another incident where an African-American male’s civil rights have been violated by people and officers and law enforcement who have the duty first to protect and serve,” Williams said.

Read rest of story here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/13/georgia-deputy-punching-black-man-traffic-stop-roderick-walker

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