Two Atlanta police officers fired after appearing on camera footage showed two black college students getting out of a car and using stun guns on them during last summer’s protests got their jobs back.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms confirmed in a statement Tuesday that the city council for the civil service had reversed the shots.
But “given the unrest in our then city and country and the disturbing video footage before us, I still believe the right decision was made.”
The council found that the dismissals of the two officers, Ivory Streeter and Mark Gardner, according to the officers’ attorney, Lance J. LoRusso, violated the ordinances and policies of the city department and the police department regarding the proper process.
The city did not investigate by the Office of Professional Standards before the June 1 firing, which is required, LoRusso told NBC News.
Bodycam video taken during protests following the murder of George Floyd last May showed officers forcibly removing two university students, Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim, from their car. Pilgrim was heard asking what was going on and crying that she wanted to get out of the car before she was apparently hit with the electric current of a shock gun.
Pilgrim, a student at Spelman College, was not charged. Young, a student at Morehouse College, faces unspecified charges that were later dismissed.
Streeter and Gardner were among six officers charged and four dismissed in connection with the incident, which Bottoms called ‘disturbing’ on many levels.
Bottoms announced Streeter and Gardner’s shots almost immediately after excessive use of force.
The two officers later sued for reinstatement and reimbursement, saying they refused the proper procedure and that “their use of force was proper and in accordance with the law, the Atlanta Police Department’s policy, the prevailing standards of law enforcement and the training provided by the Atlanta Police Department and the State of Georgia. “
They also said they were fired without an investigation, proper notice or a pre-disciplinary hearing and that the firing was against the city code.
During board hearings regarding the officers’ delegations, “evidence came to light that both officers had reason to reasonably believe and in fact believe that there was a weapon in the vehicle,” LoRusso said.
No gun was ever found.
Police said Streeter and Gardner acted as investigators at Atlanta Police’s fugitive unit.
Streeter has been with the department for 16 years and Gardner for 22 years, police said.
The two officers are still facing charges of aggravated assault.
Bottoms said Tuesday that the Civil Service Council “did not say the officers were legal.”
“This incident, and others, have led to changes in our use of violence policies, including de-escalation training and guidance on when and how to intervene in specific situations,” Bottoms said. “It is my sincere hope that these policy changes and additional training for our officers will help dispel the potentially life-threatening and deadly encounters that have occurred in the past.”
The charges were sent to Georgia’s attorney general because of a district attorney’s conflict, according to a Jan. 25 letter from the district attorney’s office. The Attorney General will appoint a replacement prosecutor.
No officer can report to full service to the resolution of the criminal cases against them, LoRusso said. Once they return to work, he is entitled to reimbursement and all accrued leave, he said.
