Newly launched police physique digicam footage raised questions concerning the demise of a younger Georgia mom who fell out of a transferring police automobile after a again door wasn’t closed, and her household demanded solutions.
Brianna Grier, 28, fell out of the patrol automobile July 15. She was pronounced lifeless a couple of week later at an Atlanta hospital, based on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.Â
Grier, a Black lady, was arrested after the Hancock County Sheriff’s Workplace responded to a house in Sparta, Georgia, a metropolis about 70 miles east of Atlanta. The GBI didn’t say why deputies have been known as to the house or why Grier was arrested.
Grier was in a coma for six days earlier than she died, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump stated Friday at a information convention.Â
Crump, who represents her household, questioned why Grier was arrested, saying the incident was “not a legal matter however a psychological well being concern.” He stated Grier had a historical past of psychological well being crises and her household had known as police a number of instances relating to psychological well being considerations. Grier’s mom stated her daughter was having a disaster earlier than the incident final month, Crump stated.
“Simply since you’re Black and having a psychological well being disaster doesn’t imply that ought to equate to a demise sentence,” Crump stated.
Grier’s father, Marvin, demanded justice for his daughter alongside different members of the family Friday.
“We ain’t right here making an attempt to begin no downside,” he stated with tears in his eyes, “however we’ll begin an issue as a result of we wish to know what occurred. … That was my baby.”
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Investigators conclude patrol automobile door wasn’t closed
After reviewing physique digicam footage and conducting interviews, GBI investigators concluded that the patrol automobile’s rear passenger-side door, the place Grier was sitting, wasn’t closed, based on an announcement launched Saturday. Brokers discovered that Grier was handcuffed and positioned within the automobile with no seatbelt.
Automotive specialists helped decide whether or not there have been mechanical malfunctions with the door, the GBI stated.
Authorities launch physique digicam footage
Physique digicam footage reveals Grier repeatedly telling cops that she was not drunk and asking deputies to offer her a breathalyzer take a look at.
Officers positioned Grier in handcuffs and tried to place her in a squad automobile. The video reveals Grier crying on the bottom, asking officers to “get off me.”
The GBI stated Grier refused to get within the patrol automobile. In keeping with the company, she stated she was going to hurt herself.
The footage reveals a deputy taking out his taser as Grier yelled, “You’ll be able to tase me. I do not care.” The deputy advised Grier he was not going to tase her earlier than he put it away and walked out of view.
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One other deputy lifted Grier off the bottom and put her within the again seat of the patrol automobile.
The physique digicam footage doesn’t present officers opening or closing the rear passenger-side door. The GBI stated the deputy thought he had closed the door.
Grier’s household calls for justice
Grier’s household chanted, “Justice for Brianna Grier” Friday on the information convention. They remembered the mom of 3-year-old twin daughters as a loving, caring individual.
“We beloved her regardless, unconditionally,” Marvin Grier stated. “Now we (have)Â to lift these children and inform them a narrative, and I am not planning on telling no lie(s). I wish to inform them the reality.”
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Crump stated Grier’s daughters have requested day-after-day the place their mom is.
“Disgrace on us if we do not get solutions for these infants,” Crump stated.
“But once more now we have one other African American citizen killed in simply an unbelievable manner whereas within the custody of the police,” he stated.
Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia State Convention of the NAACP, known as on native and state authorities to deal with Georgia’s “police accountability and police brutality downside.”
“To the Hancock County sheriff, it’s time to be clear,” he stated. “It’s time to be accountable. To the GBI, it’s time for y’all to fulfill with this household. To the governor, it’s time so that you can acknowledge, once more, that Georgia has a police accountability downside.”
Contact Information Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or comply with her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
