An Atlanta police officer claimed he came across an outstanding warrant for a woman who had given him attitude moments earlier, which is why he slammed her to the ground, punched her in the face and tasered her in front of her terrified 4-year-old daughter.
But once he had her in handcuffs, he claimed he was unable to confirm the warrant because all-of-a-sudden, the computers were down.
He instead booked her on a charge of disorderly conduct which we all know is the go-to contempt-of-cop charge to retaliate against those who refuse to bow down to the badge.
But thanks to a witness who recorded the arrest, Hines is now out of a job.
According to NBC News:
Sgt. James Hines was fired on May 17 after the Atlanta Police Department investigated the May 1 arrest of Maggie Thomas, according to a statement from the department. “The Office of Professional Standards determined that the force used during the arrest was unnecessary and inconsistent with Atlanta Police Department training,” the statement said.
Video of the incident posted by Thomas’ lawyer, Gerald A. Griggs, on Twitter shows Hines forcibly remove Thomas from her car and throw her to the ground. As Thomas screams, her daughter looks on, crying “Are you going to jail?”
The person filming the incident, who appears to be on the phone with authorities, says, “I’m recording this. He slammed her on the ground. He’s tased her like three times. This is crazy. … He slammed her on the car.”
The incident took place on May 1. Sergeant Hines said he initially confronted Thomas who was sitting inside a silver Infiniti because he had been told to be on the lookout for such a car.
He said Thomas did not appreciate being interrogated about her car, accusing him of racial profiling, which he found odd. That is the justification he used to run her name through a criminal database, which is when he said he discovered she had an outstanding warrant for a speeding ticket.
He said he walked back to the car and next thing we know, he is pulling her out of the car and piling on top of her, which is when witnesses begin recording. The video above was posted by Thomas’ attorney, Gerald A. Griggs.
Once she was handcuffed in the back of a patrol car, Hines was no longer able to find the outstanding warrant.
“The warrant for her arrest was unable to be confirmed due to the computers being down for the City of Atlanta,” he wrote in his report, according to 11 Alive:
He also claimed she had bitten him on the hand but medics were unable to find any wounds on his hands.
Now the question is, how long before Hines is rehired by a neighboring law enforcement agency?
