Kyndesia Smith arrest video: Michael Oxford Gwinnett County Georgia cop fired over conduct following taser arrest of black woman accused of property damage.
A white Georgia police officer has been fired after being filmed dragging a black woman on her porch and tasing her during her arrest. The cop’s ouster follows him earlier this week being placed on administrative leave.
Video of the incident shared on TikTok, shows Gwinnett County cop Michael Oxford struggling with Kyndesia Smith, 22, of Snellville, outside of her mother’s house in Loganville on Tuesday after responding to a neighbor’s claim of property damage.
Matters escalated when Oxford sought to arrest the ‘black’ woman who refused demands to be taken into custody, only for the cop to tase the woman. Video of the ensuing scene showed Smith falling into bushes.
Investigators said they conducted a three-pronged investigation into the officer. They said they addressed concerns about the arrest of the woman, the use of force, and the conduct of the officers. While saying the arrest was fine, as was the use of ‘necessary force,’ it was Oxford’s conduct that was called into question.
Improper conduct cited for reason for firing
WSBTV reported officials saying, that it wasn’t the officer’s use of force or the arrest that led to the firing of Officer Michael Oxford, it was the way he conducted himself in the field.
An internal investigation of the incident found that Oxford had justification for the woman’s arrest and shocking her with his Taser when she resisted but investigators concluded that officer didn’t follow de-escalation procedures and that his general personal conduct, including the use of a curse word, was unacceptable.
“Gwinnett County police officers have a duty on conduct to interact with the public in a kind, considerate, and patient manner. Based on the video, we do not believe Officer Oxford displayed the conduct we expect from officers in Gwinnet County,” said Cpl. Collin Flynn with the Gwinnett County Police Department.
Oxford had shown up at the home around 7.30pm on a property damage call after a neighbor reported a group of people throwing a bottle at her car, police said.
She also told officers one of the group members threatened to assault her nine-year-old child.
At 11: A Gwinnett County Police officer is under investigation after he used a Taser on a woman during an arrest at her mother’s Loganville home this week. Police say it began with a dispute between neighbors. pic.twitter.com/DuLEiyURem
— Matt Johnson (@MattWSB) August 21, 2020
‘I’m not resisting, you’re not touching me.’
Police said one of the women on the porch at a nearby home matched the description of the suspect in the complaint.
The video shows Oxford arguing with Smith, who was sitting on the porch with her mother Aytra Thomas and two other women.
Smith could be heard saying: ‘You’re on our property. We did not call you, I’m not going anywhere,’ after Oxford asks if she wants to go to jail.
He then tells her she is under arrest and orders her to turn around, to which Smith replies: ‘I’m not resisting, you’re not touching me.’
Interesting context: Police fired him not for use-of-force or arrest, but for his conduct. In the video, he repeatedly curses at the women at the house, ie: “Get on the f___ing ground!” despite the women making no threats. He also shoved Kyndesia Smith into the back of his car. https://t.co/DneBghbSYg
— Matt Johnson (@MattWSB) August 21, 2020
Oxford then grabs Smith’s arms and a struggle ensues as he attempts to place her in handcuffs, prompting screams from the other women.
After failing to detain her, the cop orders Smith to get on the ground, drawing his stun gun before tasing her, the video shows.
Smith falls into the bushes in front of the home screaming as the officer continues to struggle with her in an attempt to place her in handcuffs.
Several warnings
In another clip, Smith appeared to kick at the officer as he pushed her into the back of a police car.
Gwinnett County Police addressed the incident in a statement on Thursday after receiving ‘multiple inquiries’ over the since viral video.
Police alleged the officer was trying to speak to one of the women he recognized from neighbor’s surveillance video showing a bottle being thrown at a car.
‘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,’ police said.
The statement claimed Oxford gave Smith ‘several warnings’ and told her she would be stunned if she resisted commands.
‘Smith resisted a lawful command and refused to be placed in handcuffs,’ the statement said.
Racial injustice?
‘After she was placed in handcuffs she kicked the officer and continued to be uncooperative.’
The police department said it takes ‘all use of force seriously’ and that an investigation will be conducted.
The woman’s mother, Aytra Thomas, spoke out against the officer’s use of force and told WSB-TV in an interview Thursday that the arrest ‘didn’t have to go that way.’
Smith was charged with felony obstruction and simple battery against a police officer and was released after posting bond Wednesday, according to jail records obtained by news outlets.
The arrest comes as demonstrators around the country have called out racial injustice and police brutality during protests this summer, including in nearby Atlanta where a white officer now charged with murder fatally shooting Rayshard Brooks, a Black man, in a Wendy’s parking lot.
