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Family Says Police Brutality Caught On Video

COWETA COUNTY, Ga.,None — A metro Atlanta family showed Channel 2's Tom Jones cellphone video they said shows police using a stun gun on a relative, even though they said he wasn't resisting.

Newnan police deny the allegations.

Sparkle Willie showed Jones the cell phone video she recorded of her cousin, 26-year-old Samy LaPointe, during an encounter with police outside the B.J.'s Membership Club in Newnan.

"I saw him in one handcuff when he was down on the floor ... and that man was still trying to Tase him. He tried to tell him, 'Stop, stop. I didn't do anything. Stop. Stop,'" Willie explained.

On the video, you can hear Willie screaming, "I can't believe this is happening." She also recorded her cousin's bloody and bruised forehead, which she said resulted from officers beating LaPointe.

Relatives believe it was a case of police brutality. Newnan police disagree.

Deputy Police Chief Rodney Griggs said his officers did not use excessive force. He said LaPointe obstructed officers and even kicked one.

As far as officers Tasing LaPointe while he was partially handcuffed, Griggs said, "Officers can use force necessary to bring a suspect under control."

LaPointe's relatives said he never resisted and was pounced on when he asked officers why he and his family were being stopped outside the store.

Willie said it all began when she began recording inside B.J.'s Membership Club to show what bad service she was getting.

When her family got outside, she said police were there.

Willie said she recorded the store. She said police asked for her camera, but she refused. Later during the incident, she was also arrested.

Police said Willie stole a 24 pack of Seagram's wine coolers.

Her mother, Marinelle Hammit, who was with her at the store, showed Channel 2 the wine coolers she said police said they stole.

"This is the case of Seagram's they said we stole," she said.

Hammitt showed Channel 2 a receipt that she said was for the Seagram's, and Willie showed Jones video she took of a worker checking her basket with the Seagram's and receipt as she left the store.

Willie said her cousin was beaten for no reason and she was unjustly arrested.

"I was falsely arrested for something I did not do," she said.

Lapointe was charged with felony obstruction of an officer.

Griggs said the case is still under investigation and that he was still gathering all the facts.

The family wants the officers reprimanded.