A Georgia cop has been placed on administrative leave after video went viral of him tasing a Black woman who was on her own porch.
The video, which first appeared on TikTok, has been viewed millions of times and has been shared over 170,000 times. In the clip, Officer Michael Oxford is seen arguing with 22-year-old Kyndesia Smith.
According to the Gwinnett County Police Department, Oxford was called to the neighborhood on Tuesday night (Aug. 18) for a property damage complaint. An unnamed victim told the officer that a group of people yelled at her, threw a bottle at her car and threatened to “kick her son in the head,” according to Oxford’s report.
The victim directed the officer to a house down the street. He recognized one of the women from the surveillance video of the alleged incident. He began to get into a screaming match with Smith.
Oxford eventually asked her, “Do you want to go to jail?” Smith responded, “I’m not going anywhere. … I’m not resisting, you’re not touching me.” He then attempts to arrest her, but she fights him off. He pulls out his taser and tases her, causing her to fall into the bushes. Smith was charged with simple battery and felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
On Thursday (Aug. 21), the Gwinnett County Police Department issued a statement about the incident.
“The police department takes all use of force seriously,” the statement reads. “All use of force cases are administratively reviewed through the chain of command. An investigation into this incident is being conducted. The officer has been placed in an administrative role pending the outcome of the internal investigation. We have a long history of being transparent public servants to the citizens of Gwinnett County. We will continue to keep our citizens up to date with information on this case as the facts are collected.”
Smith was released Wednesday morning (Aug. 19) on $2,950 bond.