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Atlanta Police Chief Fires Officers Seen Using Excessive Force During Protests

The reaction from the authorities in Atlanta was swift and stern.

June 1, 2020

The City of Atlanta, Georgia has long been heavily entrenched in the history of the Civil Rights Movement, and that is a point of pride in the diverse southern city.

So, as protests around the city grew violent over the weekend, a number of Atlanta’s leaders, (both elected and otherwise), pleaded for cooler heads to prevail. Among them were Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, both of whom became viral sensations online for their compassion and their toughness.

Now, after two local college students were tased and forcibly arrested on Saturday night, Mayor Bottoms announced that the officers involved in the on-camera incident have been terminated or placed on desk duty.

“Some time during the night, I saw very disturbing video of two young college students who were in downtown Atlanta yesterday evening,” Bottoms said. “Our officers are working very long hours are under a very high amount of stress, but the use of force is never acceptable.”

Bottoms said a total of five officers were involved in the incident, but after a review of the footage, two officers were fired and the other three have been placed on desk duty.

The officers who were fired have been identified as Ivory Streeter and Mark Gardner, who were both members of APD’s fugitive unit.

Video of the incident was disturbing.

Video from one of the APD body cameras that led to the firing of two Atlanta police officers. Police tried repeatedly to stop a car during Saturday’s protests, before ultimately using a taser to remove two college students from the vehicle. @wsbtv⁩ pic.twitter.com/PFNWFiDGFp

— Justin Wilfon (@JustinWilfonWSB) June 1, 2020

Atlanta is just one of hundreds of American cities who are dealing with protests over the death of George Floyd while in custody of the Minneapolis police one week ago.

In this article:atlanta, Featured, george floyd, Keisha Lance Bottoms, police

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