On Thursday, the Gwinnett County Police in Georgia announced the termination of an officer who was caught on camera stomping on the head of a man who was on the ground in handcuffs. Officer Robert McDonald, who joined the department in 2013, responded as backup to a traffic stop on Wednesday, when he found a fellow officer with Demetrius Hollins, who had been placed under arrest. McDonald can be seen running over to the scene, and without stopping, viciously kicking Hollins’ face. He then helped the other officer load Hollins into a police vehicle.
According to a statement from the county, the police’s shift commander immediately began an investigation into the incident and McDonald was put on administrative leave. A later statement said, “What happened yesterday was clearly outside of state law and department policy. We do not tolerate actions that are not consistent with our core values or state law.”
Moving swiftly, the police department announced at a press conference Thursday afternoon that McDonald has been terminated, and there now is a criminal investigation into McDonald’s actions.
“What I viewed on that video disturbed me,” Gwinnett Police Chief Butch Ayers said at the press conference. “We recognize that the trust between the community and law enforcement is fragile, and situations like what occurred yesterday only make this worse.”
[Image via Gwinnett County Police]
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