Photo Courtesy of Twitter/ Michael Seiden
Atlanta Police Sergeant Marc Theodule gets suspended without pay after a video of him kicking a woman on the ground while his partner, Officer Bridget Citizen stands by and watches goes viral.
The video clearly shows a woman seemingly handcuffed and lying face-down on the ground while two police officers loom over her.
Despite the woman not appearing to be a threat to either cop, the sergeant, a Black officer responds by kicking the woman in her face.
The woman is then heard crying out in pain after having been hurt.
According to a news release, Atlanta police department officials, including Chief Rodney Bryant, saw the video and decided to suspend Theodule and Citizen on Monday.
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The statement also said an investigation wound ensue and that the actions of the two officers “appeared to fall outside our standards and training.”
“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,” the release said.
”The decision was made to immediately relieve the sergeant and the officer from duty and place the sergeant on unpaid suspension,” it continued. According to the report, the officers arrived in response to reports of an armed person on Haygood Avenue in the Peoplestown neighborhood.
The person who called said a woman was walking in the area and had pointed a gun at several people.