Videos surfaced Friday showing Georgia sheriff’s deputies beating a man who was a passenger in a ride share vehicle that had been pulled over for a broken tail light.
The passenger’s crime?
Other passengers claim he was attacked after questioning why he had to provide identification when he was simply a passenger.
“I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die. I can’t breathe!” screams Roderick Walker as a Clayton County sheriff’s deputy repeatedly punches him in the face.
Walker is pummeled by two deputies until he is laying motionless with blood seeping from his face.
“Get off of him. He says he can’t breathe, officer!” screams a woman as the deputies beat Walker.
A child in the vehicle can be heard screaming “Daddy!” as the two deputies continue to pummel Walker into the pavement.
A wider angle shot taken from a driver across the street and posted on Twitter shows the deputy punching Walker at least five times in his side before striking him in the face another four times.
The incident began after Clayton County sheriff’s deputies pulled over a vehicle for allegedly having a broken taillight. When the driver was unable to produce identification, deputies asked Walker for his, who was a passenger in the vehicle with his girlfriend and his son.
While there is no video of what led up to the violent altercation, passengers have claimed the conflict arose from Walker questioning why he had to show identification when he was not operating the vehicle. It is important to know that if a vehicle is stopped for a moving violation the driver is generally the only person required to produce identification. Passengers are not required to show unless police have a specific reason.
While police have said little about the incident or the Sheriffs involved, the name tag “Myers” is clearly visible on the departmentally issued uniform shirt of the officer who repeatedly strikes Walker.
A statement was released by Clayton County Sheriff’s Saturday.
“After being made aware of a video posted on social media involving a Deputy using physical force on a man, Sheriff Victor Hill ordered his entire Internal Affairs Unit to come in and begin an investigation that has been ongoing since 8pm. The Sheriff has ordered that the Deputy involved be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Walker is currently in jail on two counts of battery and two counts of obstruction. His lawyer Shean Williams spoke with WBS-TV this weekend. “How does he end up in jail when he was the one that was attacked? The people that should be in jail are the officers that brutally attacked Mr. Walker.”
