A Georgia police officer has been fired after a video was widely shared on social media that depicted him using a taser on a woman during an arrest outside a home in Loganville. The Gwinnett County Police Department terminated Officer Michael Oxford after an investigation found he “violated our policy and did not meet our core values,” the agency said in a statement posted online.
The officer responded after a 911 call was made on Tuesday regarding property damage. A woman had reported that two people had thrown a bottle at her car, and that the group had threatened to assault her and beat her 9-year-old child, according to the police statement.
The caller directed Oxford to a home where she believed the individuals were staying. When the officer arrived at that residence, he recognized one of the women on the front porch from video surveillance of the bottle being thrown, authorities said.
As Oxford attempted to speak with one woman, another started yelling at him. “You’re on our property,” Kyndesia Smith was seen telling him in the video. “We did not call you. I’m not going anywhere.”
Oxford yelled back, telling Smith that he would arrest her if she didn’t let him do his job, the statement said. After multiple warnings, he told her she was under arrest.
The video, which was widely shared on TikTok, shows Oxford attempting to reach for his handcuffs in order to put them on Smith. She resisted the officer’s commands, prompting Oxford to use his Taser on her, police said.
Smith is seen on the video falling into bushes in front of the home as Oxford attempted to handcuff her. Police bodycam video shows a struggle continuing between the two and a second officer who arrived to help place handcuffs on Smith. That same video showed Smith being pushed into the backseat of a police car, as she kicked toward Oxford before the door is shut.
Oxford was initially placed on administrative leave. But the department said Friday that while it found that Oxford was justified in arresting Smith and that his use of force was within policy, his conduct was unacceptable.
“We strive to conduct ourselves in a manner that promotes mutual respect with the community and our peers,” the department said. “The investigation in this case has shown that Officer Oxford violated our policy and did not meet our core values.”
