MadameNoire
Source: Instagram / Instagram
After being seen on video kicking a handcuffed Black woman in her head while she was on the ground, two Atlanta Police Department officers have been suspended.
“Upon reviewing the video, the actions of the sergeant appear to be unacceptable and we are also concerned with the apparent lack of reaction from another officer present during the incident,” read the Atlanta Police Department’s statement. “The decision was made to immediately relieve both employees from duty, with the sergeant placed on unpaid suspension and the officer placed on administrative assignment.”
In the seven second clip of her being detained, the woman, who was identified as Ashley according to CBS46, is seen spitting on the boots and pants of a male police officer. He then quickly kicks Ashley in her head while the female officer standing next to him does nothing. Before the clip ends, a third officer is seen approaching from the side of the police car. The video then went viral after being posted on the “ATL Uncensored” Instagram page and caught the attention of police chief Rodney Bryant. The incident is being investigated by the police department’s Office of Professional Standards. The female who was apprehended wasn’t charged with any crime.
On July 26, the police were responding to a call that a “female was walking in the area and had pointed a gun at several people,” the statement read. However, on the “ATL Uncensored” post’s caption, it stated that the incident in “the Summerhill neighborhood was related to a domestic incident involving an unspecified other person.” Ashley was located but due to concerns about her mental health, it was requested that she be taken to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. The person who recorded the video wants to remain unidentified, the Washington Post noted.
Ashley’s family told CBS46 that the video caught the second time that Ashley spit on the officer during the incident. They also confirmed that she has mental health issues and suspect that she hasn’t been compliant with her psychiatric medication.
“Ashley does have some mental health problems we thought she was off her meds because she’s been acting kind of off,” her aunt Nell Gibson said.
