Sigh. Another one . . .
Two Georgia “heroes” have been fired after cellphone videos surfaced of them punching and kicking a motorist in handcuffs.
Neither “hero” was arrested, notwithstanding the incontrovertible video evidence of a physical assault that would have resulted in the immediate caging of any person not an armed government worker who did the same.
The incident began when a 19-year veteran of the force, Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni, pulled over motorist Demetrius Hollins in a routine traffic stop, according to Police Chief Butch Ayers.
In his report, Bongiovanni said the vehicle did not have a license plate, and continued moving as he tried to pull it over.
The officer said the vehicle appeared to stall, and he got out to speak to the driver and could smell marijuana. He wrote that Hollins was acting strange, and started yelling, “I need my mom.”
Bongiovanni wrote that he ordered Hollins out of the car, but a struggle ensued.
In a cellphone video shot by a witness that emerged Wednesday night, Officer Robert McDonald, who was responding to assist Bongiovanni, emerges from offscreen and kicks Hollins while he is on the ground.
The department says an investigation into McDonald’s actions was launched immediately, and he was fired by mid-afternoon Thursday.
But the trouble for the department did not end there.
During the investigation, a second video surfaced, shot from another angle by another witness. In this video, Bongiovanni can be seen approaching Hollins, who is still inside the car. As Hollins exits the vehicle with his hands up, the officer punches him in the face.
