Two Atlanta officers fired for using Tasers on black college students have their dismissals overturned

Two Atlanta police officers who were fired after bodycam footage showed them pulling two black students out of a car and using stun guns on them during protests last summer have regained their jobs .

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms confirmed in a statement Tuesday that the city’s Civil Service Council had overturned the layoffs.

But “given the turmoil in our city and country at the time, and the disturbing video footage in front of us, I still believe the right decision was made.”

The board found that the terminations of the two officers, Ivory Streeter and Mark Gardner, violated city and police department orders and policies regarding due process, according to officers’ attorney Lance J. LoRusso.

The city did not conduct an investigation through the Office of Professional Standards before the June 1 layoffs, which is necessary, LoRusso told NBC News.

Bodycam video taken during protests after the murder of George Floyd last May showed officers forcibly pulling two students, Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim, from their car. Pilgrim was heard asking what was going on and crying as she was trying to get out of the car before she was apparently struck by electric current from a stun gun.

Pilgrim, a student at Spelman College, has not been charged. Young, a student at Morehouse College, faced unspecified charges which were later dropped.

Streeter and Gardner were among six officers who were indicted and four who were fired in connection with the incident, which Bottoms called “disturbing on several levels.”

Bottoms announced the layoffs of Streeter and Gardner almost immediately after what she called “excessive use of force.”

The two police officers subsequently sued for reinstatement and arrears of wages, claiming that they had not received due process and that “their use of force was appropriate and in accordance with the law, Atlanta Police Department policies to current standards and training was provided to them through the Atlanta City and Georgia State Police Department. “

They also said they were fired without an investigation, warning or pre-disciplinary hearing and that the dismissals violated city code.

During the board hearings regarding the officers’ dismissals, “evidence was revealed that both officers had reason to reasonably believe, and in fact believed, that there was a weapon in the vehicle,” said LoRusso.

No weapon was ever found.

Streeter and Gardner served as investigators in the Atlanta Police Department’s fugitives unit and helped with civil unrest in the city, police said.

Streeter had served the department for 16 years and Gardner for 22 years, police said.

Both officers continue to face aggravated assault charges.

Bottoms said on Tuesday that the Civil Service Council “did not say the officers’ conduct was legal.”

“This incident and others have resulted in changes to our use of force policy, including training on de-escalation and advice on when and how to respond to specific situations,” Bottoms said. “I sincerely hope that these policy changes and additional training for our officers will help eliminate the potentially fatal and fatal encounters that have occurred in the past.”

The charges were sent by the district attorney to the Georgia attorney general due to a conflict, according to a Jan. 25 letter from the district attorney’s office. The Attorney General will appoint a deputy attorney.

Neither officer can run at full capacity until the criminal cases against them are resolved, LoRusso said. Once they return to work, they will be entitled to back pay and all accumulated time off, he said.