Police fire officer shown using TASER on Black woman during arrest in viral Twitter video

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    Gwinnett County, GA (Gwinnett Daily Post) — A Gwinnett County police officer has been fired following an investigation into an incident that involved the officer, who is White, cursing at and using a TASER on a Black woman during an arrest in the Loganville area.

Video of the incident surfaced on the Everything Georgia Twitter account on Thursday and quickly went viral. Within five hours, more than 6,000 people shared the video.

Gwinnett police said Officer Michael Oxford’s conduct during the arrest did not meet department standards for de-escalation of a situation.

“One of our core values is courtesy,” Cpl. Collin Flynn said in a statement. “We strive to conduct ourselves in a manner that promotes mutual respect with the community and our peers.

“The investigation in this case has shown that Officer Oxford violated our policy and did not meet our core values. For this reason, the employment of Officer Oxford has been terminated as of Aug. 21st.”

An investigation into Oxford’s actions began before the video surfaced on social media Thursday, according to police. Police released body camera footage of the arrest on Friday.

Meanwhile, the county’s police department looked at three issues in the matter.

One of those issues was the arrest of the woman, identified as Kyndesia Smith, itself. The other two issues were Oxford’s conduct during the incident and his use of force.

The investigation determined there was probable cause to arrest Smith for obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and that his use of force was within department policy.

Oxford’s conduct during the arrest is a different story.

“The Gwinnett County Police Department holds its officers to the highest standards of conduct and integrity,” Flynn said. “Prior to the viral social media video being discovered, the conduct of Officer Oxford was already flagged by supervisors and an investigation had begun.

“That investigation looked at whether proper de-escalation techniques were used, and whether Officer Oxford violated our policy based on the manner in which he handled the incident. Our policy states that each member of this department shall consider it his or her duty to be of service to the general public and to render that service in a kind, considerate, and patient manner.”

Flynn previously said the officer was responding to a call about two people who allegedly had thrown a bottle at a car and threatened a woman and 9-year-old child inside the vehicle. The incident happened on the 1800 block of Summit Creek Way in Loganville.

“The incident of the bottle being thrown was captured on surveillance video,” police said in a statement. “That video shows a woman come and retrieve the bottle from the yard before police arrived. The complainant directed the officer to the house where she believed the suspects were staying.

“When the officer went to the house, he immediately recognized one of the women on the front porch from the video surveillance. He attempted to speak with her about the incident but was unable to do so because the defendant in this case, Kyndesia Smith, began yelling at him.”

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