HANCOCK COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has released law enforcement body camera video relating to the death of Brianna Grier. The Georgia woman fell out of a moving patrol car following her arrest on July 15. Grier, 28, died at an Atlanta hospital days later, according to authorities.
Grier was taken into custody after Hancock County deputies were called to a home in Sparta, investigators said. GBI has maintained that deputies put Grier in the back of the patrol car, but she was not wearing a seatbelt. Her hands were in handcuffs in front of her and the rear passenger-side door was not shut, the agency said. It is unclear why deputies were called to the home or why Grier was arrested, police records show her parents called law enforcement to their home.
Hancock County Sheriff Tomlyn Primus shared with 11Alive's sister station WMAZ reports of more than a dozen incidents going back years in reference to Grier’s troubles with mental illness, drugs, clashes with her parents and DFACS’ concerns with her two young daughters.
The newly released 10-minute body camera video now sheds light on Grier's interaction with the deputies.
"I'm not drunk, I haven't had anything to drink," Grier is heard saying in the video. "I haven't had anything to drink."
Grier is heard challenging deputies to "bring out (their) breathalyzer" handcuffed from the ground before the deputies are seen interacting with her. She continues to repeat herself while yelling as deputies lift her and carry her toward the patrol car, video shows.
"Now you gonna get charged," a deputy is heard saying before she's dropped to the ground. The deputies demand that she walk, when she refuses, they carry her the rest of the way toward the patrol car.
"I ain't broke no law," Grier repeats as the deputies carry her. "Get off me," she mutters between her statements as she threatens suicide. The deputy wearing the body camera takes a tender tone asking her to get up but Grier refuses.
She declares she has a heart stint, asks to see her brother and yells in distress, according to the video. The accompanying deputy threatens to use his Taser, flashing it, before tossing her in the patrol car.
Turning on the vehicle, a deputy is heard phoning dispatch to record his mileage and report he is on his way to the sheriff's office. Less than a minute later, he pulls over.
"Brianna," he said in the video, as he walked toward her body on the roadside. Video does not show when or how Grier exited the vehicle.
The deputy continues to pat Grier, calls for a medic, and continues to try to get a response from the woman.
"She's still breathing, go ahead," the other deputy said. "She gettin' up." He also questions how Grier managed to get out of the vehicle.
Body camera then shows the accompanying deputy demand Grier sit up. He grabs her and drags her a few steps away from where she was lying on the ground.
He works to take off her handcuffs, the video shows.
"Sit up! Sit up Brianna," the deputy said as he guides her into a seated position. "You alright."
At this point, the deputy wearing the body camera calls for Grady Memorial EMS again.
"How your backdoor open?" the accompanying deputy asks the one wearing the camera. The two are waiting for medics as they prop Grier up in a semi-seated position. They seem to have determined that she is conscious, according to video, and they try to keep her awake.
11Alive has clipped off the last seconds of the video that shows Grier on the ground breathing, incoherent and unresponsive for nearly a minute. This is how the video ends.