Two more Atlanta police officers accused of using excessive force against two college students during the George Floyd protests in the city late last month have been fired, a spokesperson for the police said Wednesday.
Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. John Chafee said that Sgt. Lonnie Hood and Officer Armon Jones were fired on Wednesday, bringing the total number of Atlanta police officers fired so far since the protests began to four, NBC News reported.
Six police officers, including the four who were fired, face criminal charges for using force, for allegedly using excessive force and a stun gun on Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim during the George Floyd protests on May 30.
“The investigation into the incident remains open,” Chafee said in an email.
Hood was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and is accused of tasing Young and Pilgrim, and he was charged with one count of simple battery for allegedly using excessive force when yanking Pilgrim out of the car, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced June 2.
Jones was charged with one count of aggravated battery for allegedly yanking Young from the car, and he was also charged with allegedly threatening Young with a gun, Howard said.
The incident was captured on police body camera video.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said May 31 that two officers, Ivory Streeter and Mark Gardner, would be fired instantly after they allegedly performed what she called “an excessive use of force.”
Both Streeter and Gardner filed a lawsuit seeking their jobs back because they were denied due process when they were fired.
