The Powder Springs Police Department Friday reprimanded an officer involved in the use of a Taser on a driver pulled over for a malfunctioning tag light. The June 2011 traffic stop, captured on video, quickly escalated when the driver allegedly resisted arrest.
Powder Springs police Chief Charlie Sewell said a Cobb County police investigation determined Sgt. Keith Moore and another officer, Lt. Alton Bailey, did not commit a crime when the driver, Brice Wilson, was shocked twice, even though Wilson was handcuffed with his arms behind his back at the time.
However, an internal affairs investigation by Sewell's department concluded the officers violated search and seizure policy. Bailey resigned from the department over a separate matter last August. Moore will be required to attend additional training, Sewell said.
Activist Gerald Rose, founder of New Order National Human Rights, has pushed for criminal charges to be brought against the officers and said Friday he didn't think justice had been served.
"I was disappointed with the outcome," said Rose, who met with Sewell Friday morning before the announcement.
Wilson, who is black, has said he thought race was a factor in his arrest and the use of the Taser.
Michael E. Tate, a former local law enforcement officer and consultant in police abuse cases, reviewed the video and told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in January he believed police used excessive force.
At the time of Wilson's arrest, Powder Spring Police Department policy did not address the use of a Taser. That policy has since been changed to prohibit the use of a Taser on people who are handcuffed, except when they are violently resisting or assaulting someone and other methods are likely to be ineffective.
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