Two college students who were pulled from their car and tased by police officers during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 could receive a $2 million settlement.
Messiah Young, a student at Morehouse College, and Taniyah Pilgrim, a student at Spelman College, got stuck in traffic as the streets filled with protesters on May 30, 2020. They were in their car as the protest took place in downtown Atlanta, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.
Young and Pilgrim were not participating in the protest. They took out their phones and started recording their surroundings. Police officers pulled them out of the car and used their tasers, as seen in a viral video at the time, according to WSBTV .
“I just can’t stop thinking about if cameras weren’t there or if they would have went a little bit further,” Pilgrim told the news channel in 2020. “It’s all that can cross my mind.”
Charged with aggravated assault and battery, respectively, Sgt. Lonnie Hood and Officer Armon Jones were both fired, per The Hill . Meanwhile, Officers Roland Claud and Willie Sauls were placed on administrative leave. All the officers apart from Claud were charged with criminal damage for punching the windows of the car.
Soon after the incident, the officers were reinstated to their positions.
“In two consecutive weeks they have experienced the pain of the justice system continuing to fail them as victims of police brutality,” Young’s family wrote in a statement provided to WSBTV in 2021. “The family is grateful for those who continue to organize and protest to change a system that remains unjust where ‘Black Lives’ are concerned. They will not stop demanding justice for Messiah, Taniyah and all of the victims of police violence.”
Young and Pilgrim filed a civil lawsuit against the city, saying they wanted officials to take responsibility for the incident. The Atlanta City Council will vote on a $2 million settlement on July 1, a spokesperson confirmed. The vote will begin at 1 p.m.
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