The investigation investigated the night of May 30, 2020, when police officers broke a student’s car window, pulled a woman out of the car, and photographed a man tasting. Students were historically identified as Messiah Young and Tanya Pilgrim, who attended the black schools Morehouse College and Spelman College.
A review released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Monday found that Young and Pilgrim had been approached by police for violating the curfew that night.
“Evidence in this case shows that the use of force by the officers involved was a direct result of resistance and non-compliance with the instructions of Mr. Young and Mr. Pilgrim’s officers,” the release said.
Student lawyers said they were victims of “unjustice levels of violence.”
Students said they were on their way home from picking up food when they were caught in a traffic jam in downtown. In 2020, Young told CNN that his arrest broke his wrist and inflicted a bruise on his forearm with about 20 needles and his entire ribs.
The incident took place during a national protest over the killing of George Floyd.
The dismissal of the two officers was canceled in early 2021. Their lawyer said they were looking forward to returning to their full mission. CNN was unable to determine the status of the other four officers on Monday.
The results of the review dismissed the affidavit of arrest for officers, Release said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was announced in August 2021 as being requested to conduct an independent criminal investigation. This review was led by Samir Patel, District Attorney for the Cherokee Judicial Circuit.
Referring to the widely disseminated video of the case, the release stated that it was “not an accurate depiction of the entire encounter between Mr. Young, Mr. Pilgrim, and law enforcement.”
The student lawyer said in a statement that they were all “extremely disappointed and disappointed with the decision.”
“The world has witnessed an exorbitant and unjustified level of violence against these college students,” L. Read the statements of Chris Stewart, Justin Miller and Mauri Davis.
“How can a broken arm and a 25-needle seam be considered an appropriate response to a suspected curfew? The system is just as exorbitant,” he said.
“We are pleased with our people,” Vince Champion, the Southeastern Regional Director of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, told CNN.
“I always said I would wait until the investigation was completed,” said the champion. “We are pleased that the claim has been withdrawn as the investigation has been completed.”
CNN’s Aditi Sangal, Tina Burnside, Eric Levenson, and Pamela Kirkland contributed to this report.
Source: www.cnn.com
