NEW DETAILS: GBI sheds light on suspension of 5 West Point officers
The Troup County mother who captured the viral video of one of the officers allegedly saying the ‘n-word’ is now worried for her safety, according to her attorney.
WEST POINT, Ga. (WTVM) - We have new details surrounding an investigation resulting in five West Point officers being placed on administrative leave.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has shed some light on preliminary information they’ve gathered so far in this investigation.
The G.B.I. confirms, that the day that viral footage was captured, around 6 a.m. on Aug. 7, several West Point police officers arrived at 405 Hill Lane to execute search arrest warrants for 17-year-old Justin Hines.
The arrest warrants were for Obstruction, Theft by Receiving, and Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Attorney Wendell Major represents Tomeisha Maddens, the woman who captured that viral video on her ring camera. Maddens is the mother of the 17-year-old that police were looking for.
The G.B.I. says they’ve received several copies of the incident.
Officers are seen waiting for someone for a while before eventually leaving. But before leaving, the agency says a West Point Police officer took the Ring camera from the front porch, tossed it into the bushes and said something to another officer. Maddens claims the officer said the ‘n-word’ while referring to her son, causing her to file a complaint.
“She’s in fear now because she has a young son who has had an encounter with the police that leads him to believe and her to believe that he won’t get a fair and impartial treatment by the government,” said Attorney Major.
After Maddens filed her complaint, Officer Donald Bramblett was placed on administrative leave.
West Point Police Department also suspended four more officers -- Dylan Harmon, Zachary Heyboe, William Osteen, and Detective Elizabeth Wegienka -- and placed them on paid leave, they say, to ensure a thorough investigation by the G.B.I.
The West Point Police say those four additional officers were not seen on camera but were present during the incident.
Attorney Major says his client turned her 17-year-old son in at the Troup County Sheriff’s office, but we’re told he is currently not incarcerated.
News Leader 9 also reached out to the West Point Police Department earlier today but could not speak with anyone.
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