George Floyd death: Police officers fired for dragging students from car during Atlanta protest
Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim were heard screaming as officers surrounded their car.
Tuesday 2 June 2020 08:30, UK
Two policemen have been fired after bodycam footage showed them dragging two college students from a car during George Floyd protests in Atlanta.
The video released by police shows Messiah Young and his passenger Taniyah Pilgrim driving through downtown Atlanta during demonstrations on Saturday night, before their car is surrounded by more than a dozen officers.
One of the officers forces one of the front doors open, while another smashes the glass of the one on the opposite side.
Both students are heard screaming in terror, with Mr Young telling officers "I'm not dying today" as he urges them to let him go.
Despite her screams, one officer uses a stun gun on Miss Pilgrim and pulls her out of the car, while another does the same to Mr Young and shouts: "Get your hand out of your pockets" and "he's got a gun".
No gun was found at the scene, according to a police report.
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Investigators Ivory Streeter and Mark Gardner, who have both been with the force for more than 10 years, have been dismissed, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said.
Three others have been put on desk duty pending an investigation, she told a news conference.
In an incident report, Gardner wrote that he deployed his Taser "to bring the female passenger under control."
Miss Pilgrim was released without charges. Mr Young was released after being charged with attempting to elude police and driving with a suspended licence. The mayor has ordered that the charges against him be dropped.
Miss Pilgrim told CBS46 that the incident was "the worst of her life" and "truly traumatising".
Chief of Atlanta Police, Erika Shields, apologised on behalf of the officers and said their behaviour was "unacceptable" and risked causing further fear following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
David McAtee was killed by a police officer in Louisville, Kentucky, after protests there turned violent in the early hours of Monday.
Meanwhile, Derek Chauvin, the white police officer who pressed his knee into Mr Floyd's neck despite him shouting 'I can't breathe', has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.