Viral doorbell footage shows a suburban Atlanta police officer grabbing a man by the throat after he refused to answer his questions.
The video, which has more than 300,000 views, was posted on YouTube by We The People University. Host Abiyah Israel, a former law enforcement official, said officers were conducting a probe in College Park, Georgia when they approached a couple. The incident happened on Dec. 15.
The officers were in the area responding to a 911 call where a victim claimed a woman and a group of others allegedly damaged her vehicle. The Clayton County Police Department would later say the officers were directed to the home, where they spotted the vehicle with plates matching the ones the complainant had given them. They began questioning a man standing by it in the backyard of a home. Local news outlets later identified him as Eugene Johnson.
In body camera footage released by the department, a male officer was examining the vehicle when he started talking to Johnson. The encounter took a turn when Johnson and a woman dodged the officer’s questions and attempted to enter the home.
Johnson and the woman are standing on the front porch when the officers repeatedly asked for their names.
“Why do I have to give you my name?” the man asks. “I had nothing to do with that.”
While the man goes back and forth with the female officer, a male officer requests that the woman step down from the door.
“For what?” she asked.
“Because again, if you go in that house, you’re going to jail. Both of y’all,” the male officer responded, adding that they could be charged with obstruction.
Despite this, Johnson continued to enter the code to go inside the home.
“Watch this. I dare you to take a step inside that house,” the male officer said, later adding, “I will drag you out and put you in handcuffs.”
When the man tried to enter the home, the male officer appeared to drag Johnson backward by the neck onto the ground and placed him in handcuffs. They repeatedly instructed him to get on his stomach. Once restrained, he was escorted off the property into a patrol car across the street.
“Why are y’all doing that to him?” the woman asked. “You’re just arresting this man, and I’m not sure what’s going on.”
Per the body camera footage, the male officer explained to Johnson that he was detained because he failed to give identification.
“I don’t got nothing to do with your investigation,” Johnson yelled through the car window.
We The People University’s version shows more of the woman’s interaction with the officers. She kept reiterating that she didn’t know what was happening.
At the 5:15 mark, the officers also handcuffed her because she had a warrant in a different county. However, the video shows the officers released her. Seconds later, the man was also seemingly let go as he was captured walking into the home with blood on the side of his face. They were not charged.
Johnson told 11Alive that he informed them he was not the car’s owner and was trying to get his friend’s dog. He also added that he didn’t provide his name because he had no ties to the ongoing investigation.
Maj. Anthony Thuman argued that the situation wouldn’t have intensified if Johnson had complied.
“The male refused to identify himself or provide any information but kept going to the front door, at which time on the video has been released, you can see and hear where code is punched repeatedly trying to get in the door,” Thuman said, per the outlet.
Clayton County Police officials, who released body camera footage in response to the viral video, said that Johnson bumped his head on the door during the debacle.
“It’s healing now,” Johnson added.
