2 Georgia Deputies Fired for Using Excessive Force in Videotaped Beat Down of Unarmed Black Man

Two sheriff's deputies in southeast Georgia were fired after being caught on videotape kneeing a suspect in the back and squirting him with pepper spray after the man fled a traffic stop and led a chase across three counties. An internal investigation ordered by Camden County Sheriff William E. Smith determined his deputies used excessive force against Irwin Kirk Griffen following his arrest at the end of a 45-minute chase on Feb. 6. "There is no tolerance for this kind of action," sheriff's Lt. William Terrell said Friday. Griffen, 22, of Cary, N.C., fled deputies after they clocked him speeding at 94 mph on I-95 in Camden County. Deputies said Griffen rammed a patrol car and tried to run over an officer as the chase wound through Camden, Glynn and Brantley counties. It ended when deputies used road spikes to deflate Griffen's tires. The video, taped from a deputy's patrol car, shows at least four officers dragging Griffen from his car at gunpoint and pulling his T-shirt over his head before forcing him on the ground. Griffen does not appear to struggle as a Brantley County sheriff's deputy lands several punches around his head and shoulders. The Camden County deputy then knees him twice in the back. Terrell said Deputy Richard Sean Billington, 36, was the one who kneed Griffen in the back, while Deputy Albert Bannon Crosby, 29, used pepper spray while Griffen was on the ground. Both were fired Wednesday after working at the department since 2000. All the deputies shown on the tape are white, while Griffin is black. Terrell stressed that race was "absolutely not" a factor in the incident. [more] and [more] and [more]

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