Cop laughs after breaking black man’s ankle with flying tackle
Shocking video shows an Atlanta cop sprinting to tackle a black driver, breaking his ankle — then laughing and calling him a “little girl” as he forced him to walk on it, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
Tyler Griffin, who was pulled over by an unmarked police car for an alleged traffic violation in April last year, looked confused in bodycam footage as an officer waved a gun at him and screamed, “Get out of the f–king car!”
Once out, Griffin gently brushed off the white officer’s arm when he grabbed his shirt, according to the lawsuit filed against the same force that just lost its chief over Friday’s shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.
A second white officer then sprinted for a flying tackle, knocking Griffin to the ground and breaking his ankle, footage released by Griffin’s lawyers shows.
“He’s supposed to protect and serve, not act like he’s on WWE,” said Griffin’s attorney Jeb Butler.
That officer — identified in court documents as Donald Vickers — later laughed to a fellow cop, who pointed out the “skid marks” from the crash landing.
“We’re laughing because you fell pretty hard after pushing an officer, man. I find that funny, man,” Vickers told the suspect as he screamed in pain.
Griffin was then made to stand and walk, with the officers still laughing as he wailed, “It hurts! It hurts!” and “Oh my God — help me, please! Take the pain away!”
“You sound like a little girl right now,” Vickers told him, according to the lawsuit filed in district court in Atlanta.
Griffin’s injury later required emergency surgery to install a metal plate and 10 pins, according to his lawyers.
The lawsuit claims the officers tried to cover up causing the injury, alleging that Griffin hurt himself driving and that they were not “strong enough to take down Griffin.”
The officers also claimed Griffin’s inability to walk was proof that he was under the influence — their reason for not administering sobriety tests, the documents allege.
Griffin’s lawyers say they have yet to learn if Vickers and the other officer with him — identified as Matthew Abad — have been fired or disciplined.
Griffin said he is only pursuing the case because he doesn’t want it to “happen to anybody else.”
“I grew up believing that if you cooperated with officers, everything would be okay,” he said.
“I still think most police officers are good people. But what happened to me is not acceptable, and this story has to be told.”
Griffin was charged with DUI and various traffic violations, and the charges are still pending, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.
The Atlanta Police Department, Vickers and Abad did not immediately comment on the case, the paper said.
The police brutality lawsuit came on the same day Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced police reforms in the wake of Brooks’ shooting, including a “duty to intervene” policy within the department ranks.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/16/cop-laughs-after-breaking-black-mans-ankle-with-tackle-video/
Photo Credit: Butler Law Firm