A Clayton County deputy was fired after pointing her gun at the face of a handcuffed man while trying to force him into a patrol car Tuesday evening, Sheriff Victor Hill said.
In a news release, Hill said Deputy Nicole Pitts attempted to take the man to jail, but he refused to get into the back of the squad car.
“Deputy Pitts pulled out her issued sidearm and held it to the suspect’s head under his chin to get him to comply,” the sheriff said.
Another deputy observed the incident and reported it to his supervisor, who in turn notified Hill. An internal affairs investigation was launched overnight and Pitts was placed on administrative leave without pay, the release said. She was terminated from the sheriff’s office late Wednesday afternoon.
Authorities have not released the name of the man she’s accused of pointing the gun at or said why he was being arrested.
Pitts is at least the third Clayton County Sheriff’s Office employee in the past several weeks to be fired amid a use-of-force or misconduct investigation.
Last month, former deputy Brandon Myers was fired after cellphone video surfaced showing him repeatedly punching 26-year-old Roderick Walker while trying to arrest him during a traffic stop. The beating left Walker with a bruised and swollen face.
And former Clayton County correctional officer Gregory Hubert Brown was fired after the sheriff said he used a racial epithet against an inmate late last month.
Brown was placed on administrative leave Sept. 27 after referring to an inmate on suicide watch as a “crazy n-word,” according to a separation letter from the sheriff’s office. He was officially terminated three days later on grounds that he neglected his duty and exhibited behavior unbecoming of an officer, the letter said.
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