CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Brandon Myers, an ex-Clayton County sheriff's deputy who was fired after he was captured on video beating a man during a traffic stop, took a guilty plea earlier this summer in the 2020 case.
It's a rare guilty outcome among recent metro Atlanta law enforcement use-of-force cases.
Following the incident in Sept. 2020, in which Myers could be seen in bystander video punching Roderick Walker in his midsection and around his head, the deputy was charged with battery and violation of oath by a public officer.
According to Clayton County court records, Myers pleaded guilty only to the violation of oath charge, with the battery charge merged into that.
As part of the plea deal, Myers was sentenced under Georgia's First Offender Act to five years of probation and 100 hours of community service, as well as a $1,000 fine.
The incident began when Myers and another deputy, Dekota Riddick, attempted to arrest Walker after pulling over a car in which he was a passenger because he would not give them identification.
At one particularly unsettling moment in the bystander video, Walker could be heard saying, "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I can't breathe."
His attorneys said he suffered numerous injuries in the incident, resulting in neurological issues.
An incident report previously obtained by 11Alive said that Walker "stated to deputies on scene that he has an outstanding warrant for his arrest and that is why he ran and fought" during the arrest.
A Clayton County grand jury declined to charge Walker in the case except for a seatbelt violation; he was later incarcerated in Fulton County on probation violation charges.