According to ABC News, two HBCU students who were yanked out of their automobile and tased by Atlanta officers in May are filing suit. Taniyah Pilgrim and Messiah Young have filed a lawsuit against Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the nine cops involved in their forceful arrest.
Last year’s incident was characterized by the students as “the most traumatic thing” that had ever occurred to them. Pilgrim had never been charged, and the charge against Young was dismissed, according to 11Alive.
In the incident, which was caught on body cam footage, police “stormed their car, smashed out their windows and tased and assaulted both of them” according to their attorneys.
“Officers threw Pilgrim to the ground, she landed face down on the pavement and they handcuffed her. Young was punched repeatedly and suffered a deep laceration to his arm that required 13 stitches,” a release said. “Both Pilgrim and Young were taken into custody. Pilgrim was held against her will for four hours without a mask in a police van with others during the height of COVID.”
After the incident, four Atlanta officers were terminated, though two were later reinstated, and six officers are still facing charges ranging from aggravated assault to criminal damage.
