“It was the worst experience of my life,” said the woman, identified as Taniyah Pilgrim, 20. She said she and her friend Messiah Young, the man in the video, were riding home from protests when the incident took place.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she was disturbed when she saw the video and ordered charges to be dropped against the man. The woman was not charged.
“As we watch the video today, it became abundantly clear immediately with the young woman that this force was excessive,” Bottoms said. “It also became abundantly clear that the officer who tased the young man needed to be terminated as well.”
One of the officers wrote in a police report that he used his taser because he was unsure whether Pilgrim or Young were armed.
“I heard officers say gun two-three times,” the officer wrote. “Not being able to see the hands of the passenger and being that she was in my immediate sight I deployed my city issued taser to defuse the situation.”
“This video was really shocking to watch in how we were manhandling a couple of young people in their car,” said Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields.
There were a total of five officers involved in the incident, Bottoms said. Aside from the two fired officers, the other three officers are now on desk-duty pending further determination of what, if any, disciplinary appropriate should be taken against them, Bottoms said during a press conference on Sunday.
Bottoms said she had not spoken directly with the students but has spoken to their representatives and looks forward to speaking with them directly.