The Gwinnett County police officer caught on video Wednesday kicking a man in the head during a traffic stop has been fired, department officials announced Thursday afternoon.
A criminal investigation has also been launched into the actions of the now-former officer, identified as three-year veteran Robert McDonald.
What happened yesterday was clearly outside of state law and department policy, department spokesman Cpl. Deon Washington said in an emailed statement. We do not tolerate actions that are not consistent with our core values or state law.
A press conference was scheduled for 3 p.m.
Prior to the announcement of McDonalds termination, Gwinnett police officials had called the video of his alleged actions very disturbing and vowed a thorough investigation.
The incident happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Lawrenceville-area intersection of Sugarloaf Parkway and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road. The nearly two-minute video, shot by a driver stopped a short distance behind the apparent traffic stop, appears to show one Gwinnett County officer pull a driver from his vehicle and struggle with him before placing him on the ground.
Several seconds later, a second officer runs up and kicks the driver in the head.
Both officers then struggle with the driver, who is still lying on the ground, and appear to search his pockets. The video ends shortly after the officers place the driver on the trunk of his vehicle.
The driver is black. Both police officers are white.
The driver in the video was identified as 21-year-old Lawrenceville resident Demetrius Bryan Hollins.
Online records show Hollins was booked into the Gwinnett County jail around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday on charges including possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, obstruction of a police officer and several traffic citations, including driving on a suspended or revoked license, operating a vehicle with suspended or revoked registration, failure to signal and brake lights required.
Hollins mug shot shows blood on his nose and lips. As of noon Thursday, he remained in jail in lieu of $7,502 bond.
Arrest warrants accuse him of ignoring verbal commands to exit vehicle and then refusing to place hands behind back after he was told he was under arrest. The warrants do not provide information about what led to the traffic stop.
An incident report was not yet available Thursday morning, police said. A spokeswoman also said neither officer involved in the traffic stop was wearing a body camera.
