Atlanta HBCU Students Tased In George Floyd Protest Awarded $2M

Source: Megan Varner / Getty

M essiah Young and Taniyah Holmes were trying to get home after getting something to ea t when they got stuck in traffic in Atlanta in 2020 during the George Floyd protests. Young, then 23 was a student at Morehouse, Holmes, 21, was at Spelman.

What happened next resulted in a $2M settlement from the city of Atlanta, awarded to the former students last week.

On May 30, 2020, Young and Holmes were pulled out of their car and tased. Police officers broke their car window, dragged them to the ground and arrested them.

Young, who was driving, was unaware that then Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms had issued a curfew. He was filming a previous arrest, which is what he believes led the officers to target the couple’s car. When Young attempted to comply with orders to move forward, he didn’t go as quickly as police wanted and police caught up with the couple in the stopped traffic.

In the confrontation with Atlanta police officers, Young was injured, including suffering a cracked wrist and multiple lacerations. Despite justifying the tasing and arrest due to concern a gun was in the car, neither student was armed. Charges against the couple that included eluding police were dropped the next day.

Holmes and Young filed a civil lawsuit in 2021 with the city of Atlanta, Lance Bottoms and the six officers involved in the violent arrest – Ronald Claud, Mark Gardner, Lonnie Hood, Armond Jones, Willie T. Sauls and Ivory Streeter.

Five of the six officers were Black. They were criminally charged with aggravated assault, pointing or aiming a gun, simple battery, and criminal damage to property, and two were fired. The charges were ultimately dropped and the two fired officers had their jobs reinstated.

“The anxiety that night brings me every day — the nightmares that I still have to experience every single night — it’s like life took a total turn, for something that we didn’t ask to be involved with,” Holmes said at a press conference at the time.

The Atlanta City Council approved the settlement for the students last week.

“This situation occurred four years ago and it’s a memory that I’ve been wanting to forget,” Holmes said at the press conference after the settlement was announced. “I’m sure Messiah has too, but unfortunately it is etched into our memory. I’m happy that this is finally settled and I’m happy to close this chapter of my life,” she said.

Young, who appeared to still be dealing with the residual trauma of the incident, said, “Thank you for everyone who supported us over the years. There is a lot of work to be done. There is still blood on the streets of Atlanta. The idea of justice that was once lauded has unfortunately crumbled to dust. We will keep pushing forward.”