Atlanta police release bodycam video in response to excessive force claims on social media

| August 15, 2022

A police officer queries a man and a woman regarding their presence in the park. Per city ordinance, the park is closed at 11 PM. However, the individuals were in the park as it was getting closer to midnight. The officer subsequently issued tickets and asked them to sign. The man complied but the woman asked questions while refusing to sign. When the police officer attempted to detain her, she asked why she was being arrested.

From Fox News:

In the video, the officer instructs both people to sign the tickets or face arrest. The man complies, but the woman is seen asking the officer for his name and badge number and telling him she does not have to sign the ticket.

“Well, like I explained to him, if you don’t sign it, then you’re going to be physically taken to jail,” the officer tells her before the situation escalates when the woman continues refusing to comply.

The officer repeatedly tells the woman to put her hands behind her back, which she also refuses.

“I’m going to sign the ticket now,” she says as he tries to put handcuffs on and tells her it’s too late to sign the ticket. “Why am I being arrested?”

She’s soon seen laying on the ground crying while the officer has a Taser gun out and is on top of her while attempting to handcuff her. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution identified the officer as Bill Brooks, who was hired by the department in 2016. The outlet did not name the woman or man who violated the city ordinance since they were not charged with felonies.

A 90-second video of the incident soon spread on social media, prompting outrage from some viewers who accused the officer of using excessive force.

“Are we not aloud (sic) to ask questions about our rights without ego taking over,” an Instagram user who identified herself as the arrested woman’s sister posted, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Why was a taser pulled out? Why was she frisked by a male officer? Aren’t police here to protect and serve? What kind of training is this? Aggressive officers like this have to be STOPPED!!”

Others responded that the video of the incident was “horrible.”

“Omfg. I am so sorry. This is horrible. And why is his face covered?” American Idol winner Jordin Sparks commented on the video posted to Instagram.

Fox News has the article here.

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Police, Society

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Sarge

It’s not a hard concept to grasp.

Sign the ticket and be notified by mail of a court appearance date, location, and time.

Refusal to sign means to want to see the first available judge, usually the next morning when your ass is taken from jail straight to the courthouse.

Old tanker

The court date and location for initial appearance is normally already put on the ticket. At least it was in my home town.

KoB

Dumbass, entitled, Skrunt. Prime candidate for the Stoopid People of The Week thread.

e.conboy

Looks like a Weight Watchers drop out to me.

tshe

Loved to watch the defiance of “What’s your name?” and “What’s your badge number?” while she defiantly diddled on her phone.

That was her play.

When that ran its course, you can see her face change when she realized she had nothing else.

jeff LPH 3 63-66

Now if I was the Cop, Instead of saying what’s your name, I would have sang to her “Whats your Name I have seen You Before, What’s your name can I walk you to your door” Any of you DooWoppers out there remember that 1962 waxed ballad???

SFC D

jeff LPH 3 63-66

Thats country. The one I would sing is by Don & Juan 1962 on the Big Top Label which is classical NYC Vocal Group Harmony (DooWopp)

SFC D

It’s not country. It’s Skynyrd.

jeff LPH 3 63-66

Sorry, but the one I commented was What’s your name by Don And Juan 1962 on the Big Top label which is a NYC classic DooWopp ballad. Check it out on you tube. I always thought Skynard was a modern day california rock country singer.

David

Southern rock band, named loosely after one of their teachers.

timactual

They ain’t that modern. They were regulars at the Comic Book Club in JAX, Fla. in the 70s. Didn’t like them then, still don’t like them.

Anonymous

What’s your name, are you Mary or Sue…

jeff LPH 3 63-66

Youv’e got it, thats the song. I think that it was Don who Worked for Nassau County NY transportation taught Mike, one of the guys in the Long Beach VFD truck company where I was and his Brother and a two other guys how to do harmony on the Long Beach boardwalk back in the day. They performed at the Brooklyn Paramount theater and Mike got a case of stage fright which he overcame eventualy.

timactual

jeff LPH 3 63-66

In a case like that, shouldn’t the Officer have called for a supervisor. She sounds like my Cousin whom back in the day went against authority and was also a Freedom rider who got shot in the foot but her Freedom rider friends weren’t so lucky and were killed down south. Was in 1963 or 1964 while I was in the Navy. Wonder what she is doing today. Got to be over 80 by now.

Tallywhagger

I may have been inclined to let her sign it, at the last moment, just to get it done for the day and move on to other calls.

Smart mouth put her ass in the dirt. Hope that she went to jail with additional charges for being a damned nuisance and tedious boor.

5JC

Can’t take back the magic words.

A Terminal Lance Coolie

Law enFORCEment. It’s in the word.

If you don’t comply, the cop gets to use force to detain you. While there’s always room to discuss the use of force by police, this ain’t it, guys.

She refused to sign, he put her in the dirt. Taser because she was still non-compliant. No deployment because he managed to cuff her. The twits whining about excessive force clearly don’t have the beginning of an understanding of what that means.

The entitlement and superiority complexes are real.

Sapper3307

BT-800 slow and dumb

Deckie

Sounds like the only ego at work was the woman thinking being a smartass with a cop while stopped for trespassing would get her out of a ticket.

Morons gonna moron. Zero sympathy for her. Her sister also suffers from a severe case of the stupids.

5JC

Woah, poor decisions come with consequences? Who made that crazy rule up?

Daisy Cutter

If the cop had wrestled her to the ground and shouted “What’s my name? Say it! Say it!” then that may have been excessive antagonism, but not excessive force.

SFC D

Just follow the nice officer’s instructions. Especially when you know you’re in the wrong.

RGR 4-78

It truly is that simple.

Deckie

Shit, just replying “yes, sir” and “no, sir” were enough to lead a cop to tell us to go the hell home when we were busy being stupid teens.

A little basic respect sometimes goes a long way.

poetrooper

Back in the day, young Poe got out of a helluva lotta speeding tickets by simply being polite…

timactual

The courtesy that parents & “the village” taught me and the honesty to admit when I screwed up have served me well.

Roh-Dog

…”excessive force”?

I’ve had dental hygiene appointments that were worse than that!!!

I hope the aforementioned ‘Mister Brooks’ gets a nice vacation on the government dime for the headache.

(sorry if I’ve been out of the loop, not feeling goodly and head feels like icepicks are trying dig their way out from behind my frontal lobe)

Riot season again?!?!?!?!

5JC

I’m surprised our resident protestor medic hasn’t waded in on this since he was in law enforcement for five minutes and is an expert on police use of force, among so many other things.

A Proud Infidel®™

IMHO yet another Professional Victim who will throw the Acme® Race and Victim Cards™ every time she opens her mouth in Court, that is if she even bothers to show up!

Prior Service

I’m embarrassed for the cop’s inability to bend her arm and get it into the cuffs. Let’s hope the Atlanta police have sufficient balls to back their officer despite the bad publicity.

5JC

You have to be careful. Too much force and you can rip a rotator cuff or dislocate the shoulde. It’s a difficult balance.

Prior Service

Good point. Though I don’t care if the perp is injured, I don’t want that coming back on the officer or the force.

5JC

I had one guy complain because he grabbed his exhaust pipe trying to keep me from dragging him off to jail. Burned the shit out of his hand he was so drunk.

Herbert J Messkit

Wouldn’t the badge number be on the damn ticket

Old tanker

Signing is not an admission of guilt or innocence, merely an acknowledgement of a court date and a promise to appear. In plain language yes you are being arrested but you are being released on your own recognizance. Just like the liberal judges do for in custody arrestees.

Then there are the entitled that think they should get their way all the time no matter wat the circumstances because their parents never taught them or gave them discipline.

Stacy0311

Years ago when I was getting my TCLEOSE certifications, out instructor (20+ veteran of DPS) said the time and place to contest an arrest was at the courthouse, NOT the scene of the arrest. His statement was “You can beat the rap, but your not gonna beat the ride. And depending on how hard you contest the arrest, determines how much it’s gonna hurt.”