*An Atlanta Police Department sergeant and another officer are on unpaid leave Tuesday after a video surfaced on social media showing what police describe as the “sergeant kicking a woman in her head” while she was handcuffed on her stomach.
The department said Chief Rodney Bryant and other commanders became aware of the video Monday and took immediate action to address it. “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,” a statement from the APD reads in part. “The decision was made to immediately relieve the sergeant and the officer from duty and place the sergeant on unpaid suspension.”
The video, which was posted to the Atlanta Uncensored Instagram page, shows the woman on the ground in handcuffs, on her stomach. Another officer was seen in the video standing nearby. The woman appears as though she may have spit in the officer’s direction. That is when she’s kicked in the head.
Watch below:
View this post on Instagram
The identity of the sergeant and the other officer has not been released. Also, the woman’s name and reason for her detainment have not been released by the police.
The vice president of Atlanta NAACP said he is shocked and saddened by video showing an APD sergeant kicking a woman while a second officer looks on. He calls for the sergeant’s termination and for the other officer to be appropriately reprimanded. Chief Bryant directed the Atlanta Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards to investigate the actions of all the employees who were on the scene at the time.
“The actions of those in the video appear to fall outside our standards and training,” a statement from the department reads in part. “However, it is important for the Office of Professional Standards to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the facts surrounding this incident. Chief Bryant will monitor the progress of this expedited investigation and review the findings to determine the proper course of action.”
