Two Georgia Police Officers Fired After Kicking And Punching Man In Head






Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni, left, and Officer Robert McDonald were fired from the Gwinnett County Police Department in Georgia.

Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni, left, and Officer Robert McDonald were fired from the Gwinnett County Police Department in Georgia.


Two police officers in Georgia have been fired after videos showed them separately punching a 21-year old man in the face and then kicking him in the head as he lay on the ground in handcuffs during a routine traffic stop.
The Gwinnett County Police Department said that a “very disturbing” cellphone video taken by a witness showed Officer Robert McDonald, 25, using “unnecessary and excessive” force when he kicked the handcuffed man in the head as seen in the video.
A second cellphone video was later discovered by the police online, showing Sgt. Michael F. Bongiovanni, 41, hitting the victim in his face as he was getting out of a car with his hands up. The sergeant then lied about the encounter when questioned by his fellow officers.
A criminal investigation into the actions of both officers has started. A representative of the district attorney’s office was not able to comment on whether charges would be filed.


The police department said. “The revelations uncovered in this entire investigation are shocking,” “We are fortunate that this second video was found and we were able to move swiftly to terminate a supervisor who lied and stepped outside of his training and state law.”
Sergeant Bongiovanni has been with the department since 1998, and Officer McDonald was hired in 2013, the department said. The two officers have not made any statements thus far.
The episode unfolded at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday near Lawrenceville, a suburb of Atlanta and the county seat of Gwinnett County, which has a population of about 850,000 residents. After the two videos were shared online, it quickly became another example of cellphone videos recorded by bystanders prompting investigations of police behavior that fuel mistrust between mostly white law enforcement officers the people.

Source: ABCNews/NYTimes

Source Article from http://filmingcops.com/two-georgia-police-officers-fired-kicking-punching-man-head/

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