Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced that six Atlanta police officers who pulled two college students from their car, tasing one of them, had arrest warrants issued for them.
Widely circulated social media video showed Morehouse student Messiah Young, 22, and his girlfriend, 20-year-old Taniyah Pilgrim, who attends Spelman College, yanked from their car during Atlanta protests over the weekend.
6 Police Officers Charged After Students Pulled From Car
Young was tased in the driver seat.
“I feel a little safer now that these monsters are off of the street and no longer able to terrorize anyone else,” Young said at a news conference.
“I have multiple injuries all over my body,” Young told CNN New Day. “I had a taser in my back for eight hours.”
Meanwhile the only explanation we have from the police officers’ viewpoint, is a viral social media video where one of them tries to add some context.
Who Are The 6 Atlanta Police Officers Arrested In The Protests?
Here are the six officers charged in the violent arrest of the students and what they’re charged with:
Lonnie Hood
Hood is charged with aggravated assault and simple battery
Officer Willie Sauls
Sauls is charged with aggravated assault and criminal damage to property.
Officer E. Armond Jones
Jones is charged with aggravated battery and pointing a gun.
Officer F. Ronald Claud
Claud is charged with criminal damage to property.
Officer Ivory Streeter
Streeter is charged with aggravated assault. He was subsequently fired.
Officer Mark Gardner
Gardner is charged with aggravated assault. He also was fired.
According to a news report, Atlanta Police Chief Ericka Shields told officers in a memo that supporting agencies have pulled back their support because of the arrests of the six officers.
“Now that the charges have been announced, I’m very concerned with the space we find ourselves in, both tactically and emotionally,” Chief Shields wrote, according to CBS46.com. “Multiple agencies that were assisting us in managing this incredibly volatile time have pulled out, effective immediately. They are not comfortable with their employees being leveraged politically by the potential of also facing criminal charges.”
Amid day after day of more protests, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says that the president of the United States is making matters worse when he speaks.
Bottoms spoke to CNN on Monday, where she weighed in on the protests which have rippled across the country in the wake of the grips of a tense situation.
“America is a tinderbox and Donald Trump’s tongue is a flame right now,” Bottoms told CNN. “He’s got to know that his actions aren’t helping us right now. Every time he opens his mouth, he throws another match on the fire. If he can’t lead us all, he can’t lead any of us.”
She added that this may be the time, in one of the darkest moments of U.S. history, for him — the leader of the free world — to be silent.
Television news channels showed repeated images and video of looters — both black and white — taking place in American cities. At the same time, many more places held peaceful protests where police officers even joined in the marches.
Atlanta Responds To Protests
In Atlanta, retailers like Target and CVS had closed certain locations. Meanwhile other stores opted to close early, including Walmarts in some urban areas.
“I feel a little safer now that these monsters are off of the street and no longer able to terrorize anyone else,” Young said at a news conference.
The city of Atlanta extended the curfew another night, on June 2, 2020 at 9 p.m. through sunrise June 3, 2020. If you’re going to or from work, you’re exempt from arrest.
Atlanta officials are also concerned that the protests will lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Atlantafi.com is bringing you the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta under a state of emergency. More definitive advice on health, please visit CDC.gov. Here are some helpful links: