GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — In April 2017 Gwinnett County officer Michael Bongiovanni stopped Demetrius Hollins for what an incident report said was his car not having a license plate.
As the young man stood with his hands up, video captured Bongiovanni hitting him and taking him to the ground before cuffing him.
A moment later, as Hollins angled backward to look at Bongiovanni, responding officer Robert McDonald ran up to him and stomped his head into the ground.
Both officers were fired in the incident, which the Gwinnett County Police Department called "very disturbing." Both faced criminal charges as a result.
Last year, one of those officers, Bongiovanni, reached a plea deal that will see him serve no jail time. But the deal does require him to testify against his former partner, McDonald, in a trial that begins Monday.
Jury selection will be ongoing Monday in the case, with opening arguments expected on Tuesday.
McDonald faces aggravated assault and battery charges, as well as a felony violation of oath by public officer charge. A conviction on all three charges and a max sentence would send him to prison for 26 years.
The testimony of his former partner could be crucial.
Bongiovanni avoided a trial and the possibility of jail time with his deal, which resulted in a no-contest plea and a 10-year-sentence that included six months work release, five months home confinement and the rest of the time on probation.
The attorney for Hollins, Justin Miller, told 11Alive's Hope Ford last summer they were disappointed not to see any jail time, but looked ahead to the case against McDonald.
"He has to help with the conviction of his partner which is real good," Miller said last summer.
The lawyer said at the time, he hoped McDonald will see jail time, as he believes his conduct was "just as, if not more, egregious than Bongiovanni's."
The incident report described a distressed Hollins who acted "strange" and started yelling "I need to call my mom" and "you have to let me go."
As he became more agitated during the stop, which was initiated because there was a white piece of cardboard where a plate should have been, Bongiovanni began to arrest him.
Photos later showed the deep cuts to Hollins' nose and lip McDonald's stomping left.
“What I viewed last night was disturbing to me and disturbing to other,” then-Gwinnett Police Chief Butch Ayers said in 2017. “What happened last night involving the officer last night was embarrassing to the Gwinnett County Police and other law enforcement.”
Last summer, Harris' attorney Miller described the lasting impact of the incident.
“(He) has a lot of problems in his relationships - with his family, finding and keeping jobs," he said. "People recognize him for all the wrong reasons.”
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