ATLANTA — Editor's note: The video above is from an earlier story on the same incident.
Atlanta is considering a $2 million settlement for two students tased by APD during a 2020 arrest at the same time as Black Lives Matter protests.
Yesterday, the Atlanta City Council's Public Safety Committee read a resolution supporting the settlement in response to a federal lawsuit filed by the students.
Taniyah Pilgrim and Messiah Young attended Spelman and Morehouse, respectively. The committee didn't approve the settlement but forwarded it to the full council for discussion during a July 1 meeting.
Attorneys for the pair said they were tased, yanked out of their vehicle and arrested by APD officers on May 30, 2020, as the city faced protests over George Floyd's death. APD said the confrontation was over a curfew violation.
Two officers, Mark Gardner and Ivory Streeter, were immediately terminated, and three were put on desk duty. Charges were also quickly filed against six officers, including Gardner and Streeter.
The Fulton County District Attorney's office filed charges for aggravated assault, aggravated battery, criminal damage to property and pointing a gun. The six charged were Ivory Streeter, Lonnie Hood, Mark Gardner, Ronald Claud, Willia Sauls and Armond Jones. Ten days later, Hood and Jones were fired, and Sauls and Claud were put on desk duty.
A ruling in early 2021 reversed Gardner and Streeter's terminations, saying the actions violated APD and city policy. At some point, Hood was also reinstated.
Young and Pilgrim then filed a civil lawsuit in June 2021.
In May 2022, the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office announced it was dropping the charges against the six officers, saying the use of force was justified. Cherokee took over the case after Fulton DA Fani Willis recused herself from the case. After announcing the charges being dropped, Pilgrim and Young reaffirmed their pursuit of the lawsuit.
The settlement that Atlanta City Council is considering is a response to the lawsuit.