Roderick Walker, the 26-year-old Black man beaten by a Clayton County deputy last week, has been released from jail.

On Friday (Sept. 18), Walker spoke at a news conference and said that he feared for his life.

“I lost consciousness,” he recalled during the conference. “I couldn’t breathe.”

On Sept. 11, Walker was taken into custody after deputies, now identified as Brandon Myers and D. Riddick, pulled over the rideshare that he, his girlfriend, and 5-year-old son were in, for a traffic violation. The driver of the rideshare didn’t have his driver’s license on him so the cop asked Walker for his. When Walker asked why, since they were not the ones driving, the cop asked him to step out the car and that’s when the cop attempted to put Walker under arrest. At that point, the officer pressed his knee into his neck and proceeded to punch him several times in the head. Footage captured by witnesses nearby shows Walker going in and out of consciousness a few times as blood streamed down his face.

Due to the beating, Walker suffered a mild traumatic brain injury and was also pictured from Fulton County Jail with a swollen left eye. According to the Clayton County Sheriff’s office, Walker received medical treatment, including x-rays that detected no fractures.

Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill said that Walker was being held in jail on charges of obstructing officers and battery and also for felony warrants, after issuing a $25,000 signature bond.

Myers has since been fired while Riddick remains on the force. A criminal investigation has been launched, however, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office says that no bodycam footage from the case exists.

“They used an illegal, in my view, chokehold on him that almost killed him; similar to what we saw in the George Floyd situation,” Shean Williams, Walker’s attorney said on Friday.

Walker’s criminal defense attorney, Torris Butterfield, expects the charges filed against him to be dropped.