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'This is not a gift': Lawyers react to $2M settlement for college students tased by Atlanta PD

By Kevyn Stewart
Published  July 2, 2024 9:13pm EDT
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

BLM tasing arrest payout: 'Happy to close this chapter'

Messiah Young and Taniya Pilgrim said they were happy to be awarded the $2 million payout after being tased and arrested during a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Atlanta in 2020. Their lawyers said they weren't participating in the protest when they were pulled from their car.

ATLANTA - Lawyers representing two college students tased by Atlanta police are defending a $2 million settlement with the city. Lawyers held a news conference with former Morehouse College student, Messiah Young, and current Spelman College student, Taniyah Pilgrim, on Tuesday morning. 

"This is not a gift," said Pilgrim's attorney, Chris Stewart." This is not something these kids did not deserve. These are innocent victims who were caught in traffic that night." 

The students filed the lawsuit in June 2021 after the May 2020 incident. During a Black Lives Matter protest after the murder of George Floyd, lawyers say the students had gone out to eat, not protest when Atlanta police tased them and pulled them out of their car.  Police said the two did not follow commands. 

Attorneys stated during depositions that officers and the now former police chief, Erika Shields, revealed the two students did not do anything to warrant being tased and taken into custody. 

"They couldn't give a reason. There was no justifiable legal reason to use any kind of force," said attorney Harold Spence. 

After the incident, Atlanta police fired some officers involved and the district attorney criminally charged six officers. Eventually, a special prosecutor cleared them of wrongdoing, and they were rehired by Atlanta police. 

Press conference related to $2M settlement for students

A press conference was held on Tuesday to discuss the $2 million settlement that will be paid to the two students who were arrested in Atlanta during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Atlanta.

Taniyah Pilgrim took time off from school and has returned to Spelman College. She is scheduled to graduate in December. 

"I'm happy to close this chapter in my life," said Pilgrim "I'm so excited." 

Messiah Young has not returned to Morehouse College. He is focusing on a career in fashion. The incident left him disappointed. 

"The idea of justice that was once lauded has crumbled to dust," said Young. 

On Monday, the Atlanta City Council voted 13-1 in favor of the settlement.  

Six Atlanta police officers have been charged in connection with the incident. Two officers, Ivory Streeter and Mark Gardner, were fired during a Zoom call the next day with the mayor, former Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields, and the city lawyer. 

In February 2021, the City of Atlanta Civil Service Board reversed the terminations, saying it found numerous violations of city policies and ordinances that led to a violation of the two officers' due process rights. 

The board found several steps were missing despite COVID-19 protocols being put into place. Among those steps were giving written notice with a "sufficient written description" of the incident and suspension prior to termination to allow for the officers to respond.